The 2008 Olympic Games will take place thousands of miles away in Beijing this August, but the United States men’s water polo team is providing fans the opportunity to watch the players prepare for the Olympics locally. This Saturday at 6 p.m., the No. 9 USA team will challenge top-ranked Croatia at Oaks Christian High School in Thousand Oaks.
“We have been given the chance to play against the best team in the world, so we know what we will be up against [in the Olympics],” said goalkeeper Merrill Moses.
To prepare for the match against Croatia and the upcoming Olympics, the team has been training under the watchful eye of new head coach Terry Schroeder. He brings credibility to the coaching position after achieving success both as a player and as a college coach. Schroeder was a three-time All-American at Pepperdine University. He then became the captain of the USA Olympic team, and earned silver medals in the 1984 and 1988 games. As a coach, Schroeder led the Pepperdine to an NCCA championship in 1997. Schroeder has been enshrined in the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame and the International Swimming Hall of Fame. He was named head coach of the Olympic team last year.
“Schroeder brings a lot to the table,” said driver Juan Delgadillo. “He definitely knows a lot.”
“Schroeder’s a great coach,” added Moses, who played under Schroeder as a member of Pepperdine’s 1997 national championship team. “He’s been through it all. He went to three Olympics, so he can lead by example and get into the water.”
Recently, the team has experienced disappointing finishes. The Americans finished sixth in the 2000 Olympic Games and placed seventh in 2004. In order to help the 2008 team achieve the success his silver-medal winning teams achieved, Schroeder is focusing on teamwork and water polo fundamentals.
“I try to teach these guys what it means to be a good teammate, and what it takes to be a good team,” Schroeder said. “Tactically, my number one goal is to make sure we are fundamentally sound. A lot of the drills we do are based on fundamentals.”
The team made headlines in February when the players and coachers were in a lockdown in their hotel while training in Serbia at the time when Kosovo declared its independence. The American Embassy feared potentially violent demonstrations by Serbian protestors after the United States backed Kosovo’s declaration of independence.
“It was a little bit scary,” Schroeder said. “Before I left, I read in the paper that Kosovo was going to split from Serbia on February 17, and I knew we were going to be there. But, we had police escorts everywhere we went. I never felt we were in danger.”
As the Olympic Games approach, the team members say they have the talent to be a surprise.
“Most people that look at our team would say a realistic goal is to place in the top six,” Schroeder said. “Probably myself, the coaching staff and the team feel like a realistic goal is to place in the top four. Our mantra is to get back to the podium. It is a long shot to do that, but I feel like it will not take a miracle to accomplish that.”
The team is having a fundraising barbecue on Friday in Camarillo, honoring the 1984 and 1988 Olympic water polo silver medalists. Rafer Johnson, who won a gold medal in the Olympic Decathlon in 1960, is the guest speaker, and both the Croatian and American Olympic water polo teams will be there. For more information on the barbecue or the game, contact Kelly Silverberg at 310.729.7873.