Del Mar Water Polo Club captures prestigious Winterfest Tournament

Del Mar Water Polo Club members.

Despite being a relatively new team, the Del Mar Water Polo Club proved deep in experience en route to being crowned champions of the prestigious 2010 Winterfest Water Polo Tournament.
This year was the seventh annual tournament sponsored by the Los Alamitos Water Polo Club. Over the years, the tournament has grown steadily and is now regarded as a nationally recognized event attracting competitive water polo clubs from as far away as Washington and Florida. Most avid water polo coaches and players consider Winterfest to be the premiere seasonal tournament, allowing them to test their teams’ skill against other highly competitive clubs.
Since establishing Del Mar Water Polo Club, Coach Brett Ormsby had yet to enter a team in the Winterfest Tournament. Two short years later, he has succeeded in growing Del Mar Water Polo to a highly respected club that entered four different teams in various age categories at Winterfest.
Perhaps the most anticipated team to watch was his freshly formed 18 & Under Boys squad. This was a new team forged together just recently when several experienced high school players from all around San Diego decided to join Ormsby’s Del Mar Water Polo Club. This includes multiple players already committed to play college water polo at schools such as UCLA, USC, Cal, Pepperdine, and the US Naval Academy. This gravitation toward Ormsby probably has something to do with the fact he is an ex- Olympian, NCAA Player of the Year, CIF Champion coach, San Diego CIF Coach of the Year, and winning coach for the San Diego Senior All-Star Game.
Over the past two months, Coach Ormsby has been working diligently with this talentladen squad to groom them into a cohesive, highly competitive team. Prior to entering the Winterfest Tournament this team had never officially played a game together. But once the tournament got underway there was little doubt that Del Mar Water Polo belonged in the company of more established elite teams.
Competing against some of the best clubs in the nation, Del Mar’s 18 & Under Boys steadily advanced through the three-day tournament directly into the championship game. They handily defeated their first two opponents by a combined score of 27-9. They went on to victory over perennial powers from Murrieta and Northern California before soundly beating archrival San Diego Shores in the championship game to bring home the gold.
In addition, Del Mar Water Polo brought their youngest team, consisting of 14 & Under athletes who just started playing together three months ago. This group, like the older squad, also proved their mettle as a newly formed team. With just a few months practice behind them this team proudly captured the bronze medal in their division.
Del Mar Water Polo Club now looks forward to competing in future tournaments and, after recent performances, will likely be considered one of the favorites to win the National Junior Olympic Water Polo Tournament this coming summer. Not a bad start for a team that didn’t even exist several months ago.
For more information, contact Coach Brett Ormsby at brett@delmarwaterpoloclub.org. The next season begins on March 8.