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National Group News

Water Polo News  Swim News Armada Masters Swim

Armada's Summer Polo Season Poised to Start May 12

     The La Mirada Armada Water Polo Summer Session will begin Monday, May 12th at the Splash facility with the specific intent and purpose of having our teams make the National Junior Olympics. As such, our training will be stepped up to a new level of intensity in the program. This session will run until Aug 3rd.

     We will be having a quick pre-registration meeting for all new families at 6pm on the 12th to answer any questions you may have. If you have already been a part of our program for the winter or spring sessions, you are not required to attend this meeting.

     The new ‘Armada Elite’ will begin training that day at 6:30 pm. Bring shoes and shorts and some water or sports drink. Those participating in the regular La Mirada Water Polo program will be getting in the water at 7:30pm. The price for the Elite and regular programs will be $275 for the session. Both groups will be done at 9:30pm.

     The La Mirada Armada Water Polo Team will also begin its new Age Group Water Polo program on Monday, May 12. This program will be an introduction to the sport of Water Polo and will teach all of the essential skills and fundamentals necessary to compete at any level. 

     The Armada Age Group Water Polo program is currently scheduled to practice 3 nights a week, Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:30 to 8:30pm and will concentrate on all of the basics of the sport, to get the athlete ready for high school water polo and beyond. The cost of this session will be $200. There is also an annual $70 fee to USA Water Polo.

     A new Booster Club has been formed to help with fund raising to offset the cost of future tournaments and travel. We plan on participating in about 4 tournaments this summer. A booster club fee will be charged to cover these expenses. If you have any fun fundraising ideas, we would love to hear them.

Armada Polo Scores at Mikasa Cup 08

     Congrats to all who played at the Mikasa Cup tournament recently. With all of our teams playing in the Gold Division, we more than held our own and walked off the pool deck with a couple of trophies to put in the front office.

     The Boys 18’s made it all the way to the championship game of the tournament by winning all three of their earlier games. But they spotted two quick goals to a very fast Cerritos club and although they came back to tie it up, couldn’t quite finish it off. We had our opportunities to win it all but didn’t find the goal often enough. Still the second place finish was the highest tournament placing by any Armada team.

     The Girls 18’s made it into the third place game, where they won easily based on the strength of the team defense and strong play on the offensive side of the ball. Their third place trophy was quite unexpected as they have only been together as a unit for about 6 weeks, but their willingness to play together showed. They will continue to improve as they get to know each other better.

The Girls 16’s played well all weekend, but lost in the third place game to the same team that beat them earlier in the tournament. In between the losses they had two nice wins and played very well as a team, again demonstrating tenacious defense that all but shut down the other teams. Unfortunately we were not at full strength in the last game, missing a couple key starters, but still happy with the 4th place finish.

     The Boys 16’s had the most exciting finish of the tournament, going into an overtime shootout to decide the winner. By making all their shots and blocking two, they took the game and fifth place. Our defense throughout the tournament was great, often shutting down the other team, but we struggled a bit on offense. But playing without one of our top starters forced other players to step up their games and score, and they did.

     Overall, the tournament was a huge success, playing 18 games in two days and learning quite a bit along the way. Not a single team entered had a losing record and all survived the 14 hour days. Nice job everyone.

La Mirada Swimmers Complete Preparation for Olympic Trials at the Olympic Training Center and the Omaha Grand Prix

     Every four years athletes on our team who have dedicated themselves to the sport of swimming, get a chance to step onto a much bigger stage than the normal athlete.  They get a chance to be part of the biggest spectacle in sport - the Olympic Games Movement.  For these young athletes it has been a long, arduous journey; arrival at the destination a great moment.

     Seven of the Armada’s best started that journey back in January with the first of the Grand Prix meets in Long Beach.  Kirstie Chen, Kylie Garcia, Julie Imagane, Jessica Marsh, John Mendoza, Samantha Shellem and Sandrine Urias have continued to follow that trail through Grand Prix meets in Palo Alto, the Swim Meet of Champions, Santa Clara, and finally the Omaha Grand Prix.  At each stop they have gotten better and better.

    The Toyota Grand Prix Circuit has led them to the final stop, the US Olympic Trials, which now looms only two weeks away.

    ‘Our athletes have come a long way, progressing from nothing more than spectators to real players in the event.’ commented head coach Richard Shipherd.  ‘They’re ready and I am excited for the swimming at Trials to begin.’

        Armada swimmer, John Mendoza, achieved his first Olympic Trial cut in Omaha last week with a 7th place finish in the 1500 free.

    The final preparation for the Armada athletes was a special three weeks spent in Colorado Springs as a part of the National Team Altitude Camp.  Thanks to the camp's head coach, Ray Beneicke, and National Team Head Coach, Mark Schubert, our athletes were allowed to attend this important camp. Each of the Armada athletes performed admirably in the camp and added greatly to the camp's overall success.   A unique bond developed between all of the camp participants, not just the Armada team members, but everyone..  That bond carried over to the Omaha Grand Prix meet the following weekend.  As it turned out almost every camp member attended the Omaha meet, traveling directly from Colorado Springs. 

      ‘It was fun.  Everyone cheered everyone on and, frankly the 26 members of the camp dominated the meet,’ stated coach Shipherd. 

       ‘It was really satisfying to see world record holders cheering on our kids, laughing and having good time with our kids, it helped us a lot’. 

      The Omaha Grand Prix was the fastest of the Grand Prix meets.  As a final test before Trials there was a sense of urgency about it.  The fact that the facility was the most amazing swimming facility ever seen on US soil made it uniquely exciting.

Armada athletes take a well deserved break from training to enjoy a little white water river rafting.

      Despite three hard weeks of training in Colorado our athletes soaked up the energy and excitement of the event and performed wonderfully.   By the meets end the Armada had achieved two new Olympic Trial cuts and a multitude of personal best times.

     For the Armada there were several stars. Samantha Shellem broke into the top eight final on the second day of the meet, swimming the 400 free. Samantha posted a terrific time of 414.7 to qualify 5th, her best time by nearly three seconds.  Samantha held that spot going even faster at night with a 414.0.  The time moves Sam into the top sixteen seeds at the trials and gives her a glimpse of what she is capable of doing.

      Following that up, Sam improved to a third place finish in the final event of the meet, the 800 free; recording a personal best by more than nine seconds and winning a Grand Prix medal.  It was also her third Olympic Trial cut, as she had never made the coveted qualifying time before.

     Teammate Kirstie Chen also qualified for the big finals in her signature event, the 400 IM (sixth), posting her lifetime best in that final.  Her time moves her into the top 20 seeds at Trials.  Kirstie also qualified for second swims in the 200 fly and the 200 IM. Kirstie will be one to watch in two weeks.

     Maybe the most exciting news of the week came from long time Armada swimmer, John Mendoza.  John, after barely missing the Trials cut in the 400 free due to a suit malfunction, came storming back with incredible determination to qualify for his first Olympic Trials in the 1500 free.

    ' I was incredibly proud of our whole team, many of the kids were tired, but we swam great,' stated Armada coach Richard Shipherd, 'but John, that was special, he personifies all that I think is important in this sport - NEVER QUIT.  I couldn't be happier for him'

    Kylie Garcia, added to the list of best times with her outstanding performance in the the 100 fly.  Kylie missed the Olympic Trials cut in the 100 fly by just .3 seconds. 

    'Kylie was wearing a new suit that was far from the proper fit.' noted coach Shipherd. 'She posted a 1:02.7, her best time. She will have one more try next weekend.

     Jesica Marsh rounded out the team's incredible three weeks with four personal best times: 4:25.0 in the 400 free, 2:07.7 in the 200 free, 9:04.0 in the 800 free and 1:00.2 in the 100 free.

  'Jessica is truly a star on the horizon and I am very proud of her progress,' commented coach Shipherd.

      Presently, four swimmers will represent the City of La Mirada and the La Mirada Armada at the 2008 Olympic Swimming Trials:  John Mendoza, Kirstie Chen, Samantha Shellem, and Julie Imagane.  Trials begin on June 29th in Omaha, Nebraska and conclude on July 6th.

Armada Masters Team Begins to Grow

 

 

     Starting a new team from scratch, especially in the middle of winter, is a difficult proposition; it takes patience and a warm jacket.  Masters coach, Jena Chomchavalik,  has used both over the last four months and the results are beginning to show.  The team is now into double digit membership, fourteen to be exact.  More importantly there is a sense of pioneer pride amongst our founding members which they are sharing with a sense of fun and adventure.   The La Mirada Armada Masters swim team began workouts in mid November.  The team is divided into two practices.  The morning practice takes place Mon / Wed / Fri and Saturday from 6:00 - 7:30 am (8:00 - 9:30 on Saturday).  The evening practice takes place Mon - Thur, 6:30 - 8:00 pm.  Practices are divided by the interest of the athletes, as either a  competitive workout or a less rigorous, but equally


Masters Swimmers Angel, Lordis and Jeremiah are just a few of our new masters athletes

Featured Swimmer John Salzmann

 

      John started swimming in the 1970's at age 5 and for the next million laps swam for various AAU teams including Lee Arth's Rio Hondo Aquatics, Whittier Aquaducks, Whittier Hills Aquatics and The Lowell Demons.

"In the 25 years since I was last swimming, there has been a real emphasis placed on technique," John said after recently joining Armada Masters.
"Where we used to just pound-out yardage, today's component training, drills and video analysis allows swimmers to train smarter to go faster."
"And not that its helping me that much," he continues smiling. "But not having to keep your head above water in breaststroke really changes things."

John is married with 2 kids and when not gamboling about underwater like a happy California Fur Seal, he develops case management software for the US Courts..

 

CAS

Top Swim Store in the West Makes the Splash Aquatic Center Home

     Competitive Aquatics Supply (CAS) is the leading swim shop in the west and we are indeed fortunate and excited to have them as a part of our new home at the Splash Aquatic Center.

     What ever your swim equipment needs may be, for swimming, water polo or recreation, we have the answer for you.  CAS, the top aquatic equipment supplier in southern California, has a store right on our deck.  Drop in and check out their merchandise.

 

   
     
  
 La Mirada's Splash Regional Aquatic Center
13806 La Mirada Blvd. La Mirada California 90638