Oahu Water Polo Club

OWPC players head to Belgrade, Serbia where they’ll rep Hawaii and the USA for the next week. Good luck to Reia Kimi, Kailei Lapp Harvey, Nick Davidson and Konnor Chang!

2024 JOs Session 2 - Final Day: Soooo much growth across the board for all of our athletes and coaches! OWPC 10u coed come up with their third win on the final day to take 21st in the Gold Division. They go 3-5. 14u Kai win their last game to take 13th in the Gold Division and go 5-3. 14u Wai come back w a phenomenal performance in the 4th quarter for their final game! They came behind from a two point deficient at half to tie the game in the 4th and then came up w the ‘W’ in the shootout! Big shout out to their goalie, Kapua, who got hit in the head on the first penalty shot, shook it off to come back and block 2 of the next 4 shots! 16u Kai finish 7th in the Gold bracket and go 4-4. 16u Wai take 20th in the Bronze Division with a record of 2-6. 18u Kai pullout a win with a buzzer-beater goal by goalie Makana Fake, to take 15th in the Gold division going 4-4. 18u Wai improved throughout their tournament but unfortunatly take a loss on their last day, taking 23rd in the Gold bracket and go 1-6. Still placing in the top half of JOs. Congratulations to all the athletes who competed in the 2024 Junior Olympics tournamnet!

Look who got to play each other at a National Tournament and not in our backyard! 14U Kai and 14U Wai battled each other for a chance move on to the 5-12 seeding in the gold bracket. 14U Kai wins but the victory is bittersweet for sure.

2024 JOs Session 2 - Day 1: First days are usually the hardest. OWPC 10u Coed play in their first games today and go 0-3. But when I say in their ‘first game’, I mean their first real game. For most of these kiddos they have only ever played in local scrimmages! We checked in with Coach Don and he said his kids are just excited and pumped to be here! 14u Kai play two close games against Lamo B and SB 805 B but come up short to go 0-2. 14u Wai had a little bit of a rough day and also go 0-2. Both 14u teams advance to the Gold Division. 16u Kai lost a close game to Shaq and come up w a W against Third Coast sending them to a third game where they battled La Jolla United evenly until the 4th quarter. Unfortunatly they took a loss and advance to the Gold Division. 16u Wai win both their games going 2-0 and advance to the Silver Division. 18u Kai go 0-2 and advance to the Gold Division. 18u Wai also go 0-2 and advance to the Gold Division. Congratulations to all of our OWPC athletes who played today! Good luck tomorrow as you play through your brackets.

Final day of Junior Olympics: 14u Kai Boys take 16th in the Platinum bracket going 4-4 over the tournament. 14u Wai get their second win going 2-5 and take 22nd in Gold. 16u Kai take 17th in Gold going 4-5 overall. 16u Wai go 0-7 and take 24th in the Bronze. 18u Kai go 3-4 and take 17th in Gold. Congratulations to all the OWPC families who competed in the first session of JOs!!!!

JOs session 1 - Day 3: 14u Kai lose in a shoot out to CC-United and go 1-1 to advance onto the 15th place game in the Platinum Bracket. 14u Wai come up with their first win and go 1-1!!!! 16u Kai go 1-1. They’ll advance to the 16th place game in the Gold Bracket. 16u Wai go 0-2. 18u Kai get their second W and advance to the 17th place game in the Gold Bracket.

JOs session 1 - Day 2: 14u Kai go 1-1 and advance onto the quarter finals tomorrow in the Platinum Bracket. 14u Wai put up a good battle with 2 close games but go 0-2. 16u Kai continue to have tight games. They had a 1 point win in the morning but took a 1 point tough loss to CDM forcing them into a 3rd game against Commerce for a play-in spot in the evening. They go 1-2. They’ll advance to the quarter finals in the Gold Bracket. 16u Wai go 0-2. 18u Kai get their first win on the morning but drop their second game to the Barcelona Lions in the after noon. They’ll advance to the quarter finals in the Gold Bracket.

Day One of Junior Olympics: 14u Kai Boys go 2-1 and advance on to the Platinum bracket. 14u Wai, 16u Wai, 18u Kai all go 0-2. 16u Kai goes 1-2 but had 2 very close games against San Jose Express and Thunder.

The first day is always the toughest. Good luck tomorrow & Go OWPC!!!!

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=921814806625678&id=100063915015146&mibextid=cr9u03

OWPC Senior Spotlight.
Congratulations to OWPC Senior Kyra Lurito who has committed to University of the Pacific where she is planning on majoring in psychology. Kyra chose UOP because she thought it was a good fit for her both academically and athletically.
While she plans on majoring in Psychology, she is also thinking of doing pre-law course work in conjunction with her major.
When asked what her advice would be to her freshman/sophomore self in terms of college recruiting it would have been “to go for any school that you want because you never really know what can happen. And also, to always try your best but, it’s okay if you fail or fall a little short because wherever you end will be a good place for you.” Go Tigers!!!!

Best wishes to all OWPC athletes and coaches attending the National Team Selection Camp this weekend!
Cadet Girls: Laiku Wong & Kailei Lapp Harvey
Dev Boy: Kaua Hudgens, Reef Thatcher-Davis, Ati Morton & Koa Keaulana
Cadet Boys: Nick Davidson
Youth Boys: Konnor Chang

Through the wind and rain….. making it happen.

Senior Spotlight! Congratulations to OWPC Senior Makana Fake for committing to UCSD.

Here is what she had to say:
“I picked UCSD because of its similarity to here back home and the prestigious Marine Biology program at Scripps Institute of Oceanography which is where I want to study. They have the perfect balance of academics, athletics and fun that I was looking for. It’s also one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been (a close second to Hawai’i😇.)
-I plan on majoring in Marine Biology to become a Veterinarian that specializes in Marine Mammals.
- The advice I would give my freshman self is to always put yourself out there. Every opportunity you have to travel, get game film and email coaches is valuable and you are enough. Done sell yourself short, all you need is the opportunity to meet the coaches and show them how much you can offer their program.”

Whirlwind of a Frozen Cup trip. OWPC 18u girls (ages 14-17yr) played a tough tournament. Started out a little rocky on Sat am vs Diablo 18u but came back w an unexpected win against 680 to advance out of our bracket playing 5-8th in Platinum. On Sunday we again came out a little slow in the first half against Greenwich and were down by 3 at half, but the girls rallied back to tie it up going into the fourth qrt. Unfortunatly Greenwich squeezed it out in the end and we lost by one. Due to flight schedule we weren’t able to make our last game but were happy to have gotten a chance to play 3 strong programs leading into our high school season.
Other highlights of the trip were we got to see former OWPC players (Audry and Kohia at Cal State East Bay and Tina Hicks at Stanford) play in the Stanford Invite. So pumped to see Hawaii’s growth in water polo!!!! 😍

OWPC 14U vs. 680

OWPC 14u Girls are off to Frozen Cup in Northern Cali this weekend! Athletes are from Big Island, KS, Punahou, Niu Valley and HBA! Go gettem ladies! Way to represent Hawaii!

Congratulations to Ava Gurney who has committed Pitzer College where she plans on majoring in Environmental Analysis or Biology on the pre-dental track and playing for the Pomona-Pitzer women’s water polo program.

‘I chose Pitzer College because of its academically rigorous reputation as well as the diverse educational opportunities provided by the Claremont Consortium. I was especially drawn to the Pomona-Pitzer women's water polo program for its phenomenal coaching staff, emphasis on holistic development, and commitment to excellence. During my visit, I felt extremely welcomed by the team and I realized I wanted to be a part of their amazing community.’

Her advice to next year’s recruiting class of Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors:

‘Never be scared to put yourself out there. Coming from Hawaiʻi, it is a lot harder to get exposure to mainland coaches, making communication extremely crucial during the recruitment process. Start by reaching out and staying consistent when emailing college coaches. Remember to maintain an optimistic mindset and be open to programs offered at all levels, not only D1.’

Our Hawaii boys have been enjoying meeting new friends, playing lots of waterpolo and of course snowball fights at Holiday Camp.

The Hawaii Zone got to send 9 girls to the USA Waterpolo Holiday Camp to train at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs!

12U Makahiki Champions: Team Nai’a and Coach Aaron Zhao!

10U Makahiki Champions: Team He’e!!!! Congratulations!!!!

It’s the first day of the Makahiki tournament and our final day of our “Pie Your Coach Fundraiser.” Get your sweet revenge and donate to designate the coach you want to get it. Venmo with donations. DM for questions.

It’s a tight race for the top 3, but it’s anybody’s game!  No one likes to be “Runner Up” in a competition, but the “Runner Up” in OWPC’s inaugural Pie-a-Coach Fundraiser will receive a BONUS PIE to smash the overall top earner! Who’s winning now?? Follow the live tally to see who is in the lead on our website (link in bio)

Accepting cash donations or Venmo @
Christina-Keaulana with the name of the preferred coach and pier
through Sunday 11/26/23

Tournament schedule is up on OWPC’s website. Link in bio.

And Coach Eko pulls into the lead!

Coach Shawn is in the lead after the first day of the ‘Pie Your Coach Campaign.’

Want to get sweet revenge on one of our coaches? Donate cash or Venmo- -Keaulana for a chance to pie a coach in the face at the Makahiki Tournament this weekend.See picture for details.

Congratulations to OWPC dual athlete (swimmer & water polo player) Leināʻala Wong on committing to the University of California Davis where she will swim for the Aggies and major in Communications! She chose UC Davis because of its all female swimming program as well as its academically challenging curriculum. The campus is absolutely beautiful and reminds her of home as the mascot is a farmer. Her recommendation for the rising seniors is to “Just send the email. Find the school that fits you athletically and academically, where you know you will be challenged, but also thrive and grow as a person and player.”

Hawaii Zone’s USA Waterpolo Boys Olympic Development had a solid turnout this weekend!