FAQ's

What is USA water polo insurance and age verification?

USA Water Polo insurance and age verification is required for all members of SHAQ. It provides insurance coverage during practices and games.

- Bronze level membership is acceptable for practice participation.

- Gold level membership is required for all invitational tournaments including Futures, Frozen Cup, Kap 7, JO Qualifying and JO's.

How do I make sure I am registered (affiliated) with SHAQ?

In order to compete with SHAQ you must be affiliated with Sleepy Hollow Aquatics (18329) on your USA water polo membership. To change your affiliation go to “Member Area” after logging in to USA water polo and click on “change club affiliation.”

What are Junior Olympics (JO’s) and the Junior Olympic Qualifying (Quals) tournaments?

Junior Olympics is an end of the summer national tournament. The qualifying tournaments take place in June in the Bay Area. Athletes must have the Gold level USA water polo insurance membership to participate in JO's.

Does everyone compete at Junior Olympics?

No, not all athletes will compete at JO’s or JO Quals. SHAQ will field an A team for all age groups. 12-15 athletes will be chosen from each age group to fill the A team JO roster. SHAQ is a very competitive club and having been chosen for previous JO’s or having had attended a travel tournament does not guarantee a JO roster spot. If we have 12-15 more players in a certain age group we will field a B team as well. Not all SHAQ teams will qualify for JO’s. If you have any questions regarding JO selection, please contact Matt Swanson directly at sleepyhollowaquatics@gmail.com.

Is Junior Olympics the main focus of the summer?

No, SHAQ practices and philosophies are geared toward improving all players’ abilities. All players, regardless of whether or not they are chosen to participate at JO’s, receive the same coaching and involvement in practice.

How do you choose JO teams?

Choosing teams is a very tough process, especially for a club with as many competitive athletes as we have. We look at many factors including; will the athlete get playing time on a certain team? Which team is a better fit for the athlete? Does the athlete show a strong work ethic everyday in practice? How has the athlete's practice attendance been? Is it an athlete's up or down year age wise?

We like to put kids on teams where they will have a chance to be involved and "get the ball in their hands". Being the 11-15th player on a roster and barely seeing the pool in games, or being a top 6 player on another roster and getting a lot of playing time and meaningful minutes is important to player development. As much as possible, we want kids in the water competing.

We also take into account whether it is an Athlete's up year or down year age wise. For kids that are in their down year, it is much better for their development to be a crucial player on a B team than barely seeing playing time on an A team.

In order to get playing time on an A team a player needs to be knowledgeable, intense, physical, confident and understand all of the aspects of what we are doing strategically.

How do I order SHAQ Merch?

SHAQ suits, hoodies, sweatpants, t-shirts, hats and more is available on our website, link below.

SHAQ Merch

Are there fees for tournaments?

Some Marin County games for (All Level) players are included in the SHAQ tuition. Tournaments that are specific for (A or B Team) players are at an extra cost. This includes JO's, JO Quals, Futures, Cal Cup, Kap 7, Frozen Cup, etc.

Can I practice with SHAQ and another water polo club at the same time?

In fairness to our other athletes and coaches we do not allow athletes to be registered for a SHAQ session and practice with other clubs at the same time. This also creates a logistics issue for our coaching staff.