My name is Egen Atkinson and I'm a junior on the men's team originally from Honolulu. Bret Voith (current sophomore from Coral Gables, FL) and I are the new captains of the men's team for the 2009 year (spring off-season and fall season). Now that the 2008 season and fall final exams have come and gone, I thought this would be a good time to christen this blog with a little recap of 2008 and a preview of what's coming for HMWP in 2009. You can also read a more technical/statistical recap of our season on the GoCrimson website here.
There's no way around the fact that the 2008 season didn't end the way we all had hoped. We had high expectations from the start of the season, but found ourselves unable to meet many of the goals we set for ourselves. While the season's highlights included a great 10-9 win over MIT, a strong effort against Pepperdine during our California trip, and an All-Northern team selection in senior David Tune, we struggled throughout much of the season. Whether it was a tough overtime loss to Brown or a disappointing 6th place finish at Northerns, we seemed unable to ever 'click' as a team last year and play solid polo. Even though it was trying at times, the season was still an invaluable growth opportunity for all of us. Not participating in the Eastern Championships was especially difficult for us, although on the bright side it is now serving to fuel a roaring fire of desire to train for next year.
In fact, the new season has already begun, and we've hit the ground running in the best way possible: with our eyes focused on a Northern Championship en route to an Eastern Championship in 2009. Last week we resumed strength training with the always inspirational, always demanding Coach Tim Mullen. By the end of the spring semester he will no doubt have us all squatting Volkswagens, benching redwoods, and doing more chin-ups than J Connolly ever dreamed of... which, if you weren't aware, is quite a lot. Additionally, Bret and I, with Erik's help, have set up what we hope will be a valuable off-season in the water: a good deal of conditioning and even more playing water polo. Many of the practices in February and March will be "Captains' Practices" run by Bret and I until Erik takes over with some more technical coaching in April and May. Additionally, several men's team members are planning to travel to Brown this weekend to try out for the Olympic development program, which will be hosting a larger national tryout in Los Angeles in late February.
Finally, the team is as happy and as fun-loving as ever as Spring training picks up. This weekend we got together to "bro-out" and watch an exciting Superbowl match-up while stuffing ourselves with something like 10 XL pizzas.
I hope you've enjoyed the first HWP blog post! Check back every few weeks; Bret and I, as well as the women's team captains Nicola Perlman and Devon MacLaughlin, have some good (and maybe some not-so-good) ideas for how to make this blog lively and enjoyable, including "spotlighting" different (unwilling?) members of the team and of course keeping you up-to-date on our training, competition, and camaraderie.
GO CRIMSON!!
Egen Atkinson, 2010
Bret Voith, 2011
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