Based in the South Bay, the Trojan Water Polo Club is sending five teams to the USA Water Polo National Junior Olympics held Saturday, July 25 through Sunday, Aug. 2 in Orange County.
Joining the boys and girls high school teams and a boys U12 squad, two boys U14 teams will compete. One of the boys U14 teams is comprised of athletes who were recently promoted from 8th grade at Manhattan Beach Middle School and Hermosa Valley School and will be attending local high school in the fall.
The team has won three prestigious tournaments including the Coastal California Section Qualifier that earned the team a berth in the Junior Olympics. In April, the boys from the South Bay placed second to Stanford in the California State Championships.
The team is coached by Nik Healy who grew up in and still resides in Manhattan Beach. Healy has coached in the Trojan WPC since graduating from USC in 2005 where he won two national championships (2003 and 2005) with the Trojans. His brother Erik is the Club Director.
Nik earned All-American, All-CIF first team and Prep League MVP honors will playing for Chadwick High School and is a member of the Swedish national team.
“We’re very excited to be playing in the Junior Olympics,” said Healy, whose team is ranked No. 1 in Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties. “We have a very dedicated group of boys with all the talent a coach could ask for.”
The team recently finished second in the US Club tournament, losing a hard-fought 7-6 overtime game to defending Junior Olympic champion Vanguard.
Along with Vanguard, Healy expects to face stiff competition from Newport, Northwood, San Diego Shore, Stanford and the 680 Drivers from Northern California.
Healy, who was also an instructor in the Junior Guard program, said he is excited about the growth of water polo in the South Bay.
“When I was young, I used to have to travel to Long Beach to practice and play,” Healy said. “When I started coaching, we had 10 – 12 kids. Now we have two teams in the same age group competing in the Junior Olympics. Once a kid starts playing water polo, it’s common for he or she to get that bug and water polo becomes a big part of their life. It’s advantageous for us to have two great facilities at Mira Costa and Redondo to practice at.”
The Trojan Water Polo Club is open to boys and girls ages 10-18. For more information, visit trojanwaterpolo.com.
Results of the USA Water Polo National Junior Olympics are available at usawaterpolo.org.
