Our mission when we formed Triton Water Polo was to provide a club in the Tri-Valley for local athletes to train and compete at a high level. Our goal from the beginning has been to grow the sport we all love here in our local community and to help every athlete reach their goals, whether it be athletic or academic.

When we first launched our program, we started with a high school team of athletes from Foothill and Amador in Pleasanton as an off-season program. These 15 athletes went on to win gold in their division at Junior Olympics in 2019 in the inaugural season of Triton Water Polo. Today, our athletes come from over twelve high schools representing over ten cities.

Over the last three years, through COVID-19, our focus has been to develop our program at beginner levels to create awareness of one of the fastest-growing sports in the country. In the Fall of 2021, Triton Water Polo launched Intro To Water Polo Camps, which serve as an introductory program for our development teams. Since then, our program has increased in size and has over 127 active members between competition teams, development teams, ongoing camps and clinics, and our new master's program. This Summer, we reached a record enrollment and were able to qualify multiple teams for Junior Olympics, which will be held later this week in the Bay Area. This Summer, we introduced our first 14U girls program and are excited to see this grow over the next several months.

In the past few seasons, we have invested heavily in expanding our coaching staff to support our growth and development as a club. Our coaches include former USA National Team Members, NCAA National Champions, Current Division I Athletes, and local Varsity High School Coaches. We are proud to say we have a 7:1 athlete-to-coach ratio and have seen improvements across all levels with the ability to give our athletes more individual instruction.

Over the last four months, our coaching staff has discussed our next development phase. Historically, it has been challenging for athletes to compete in Water Polo and Swimming simultaneously. These sports, however, complement one another and offer a holistic approach to training. Many successful dual-sport water polo/swim athletes have made aquatics history, including the legend Matt Biondi, an eleven-time Olympic medalist and member of the USA Swimming Hall Of Fame. Before joining Team USA, he played water polo and swam as an All-American for UC Berkeley. In the past, there has been a stigma that water polo players cannot become high-level swimmers and swimmers cannot become high-level water polo players. We believe our athletes should not have to choose one or the other but should be allowed to do both.

With the support and addition of local high-level USA Swimming coaches, we are excited to announce that Triton Water Polo Club is now Triton Aquatics. Starting this Winter, we will be rolling out three phases over the next 18 months to transition Triton Water Polo into Triton Aquatics, a competitive USA Water Polo and USA Swimming organization. Thus, allowing our members to compete and train as dual-sport athletes creates another place for local swimmers to receive high-level training. This transition will help us strengthen our swimming and water polo communities to work hand in hand in the growth of both sports throughout the Tri-Valley.

We look forward to seeing you on deck and to what the future holds. Go Tritons!

Alex Lazzerschi

Founder & Director