Bobby Knight always wanted his players to play the perfect game. I wish we had invited him to our game as he would have seen a clinic on how to play Jungle Cat polo. The pre game speech involved playing hard nosed defense. We had worked hard the previous week on 6 on 6 counterattack. The number of turnovers we created at practice that led to counter opportunities was awesome. All we needed to do was recreate that defensive magic in the game. I stressed not to be so conservative on defense. Take a chance! The game began and it was 7 to 0 before I even blinked. I wish I had kep track of the number of turnovers/steals we had. We had to be at least at 15. It was like Christmas morning, I was giddy. The coolest part about it is that we focused on one thing and that was passing lane defense. The rest fell into place. SLAP had a solid goalie who was very good at taking away e near side. We scored multiple 2 on 1 counterattacks. I swear it was like we were just at practice doing a drill. Kudos to Tom Critchfield for shooting cross goal high and scoring. Final score 13 to 3.

Coach Cutelli

Coming in, we knew the game today against Mad Dog was not going to be easy. Back in week 1, when we played Mad Dog for the first time, we got blown out. The score was never close, and we had trouble doing just about everything. So when the opportunity arose to play Mad Dog today, I was quite excited we would have the chance to see what we had learned and give some of these potential varsity All-Conference players on Mad Dog a run for their money.

Before the game, we emphasized taking Mad Dog’s best players out of the game, thinking about defense first, and not forcing any bad passes. After the first couple of possessions ended abruptly because of some ill-advised passes by JCWP, JCWP began doing a better job of deciding when to throw passes and when not to throw passes. We must have dumped the ball somewhere around 10 times during the game, which was exciting, because you rarely see JV teams with the mental awareness to dump the ball when the shot clock is running low and with the awareness to get back to defense when the clock is running down. At half, the score was 5-2 Mad Dog.

We played a great first half. Everyone did a great job of getting back to defense, and we did not force very much. However, fatigue started to set in, and after two ill-advised passes down toward the offensive end, Mad Dog got two quick goals to go up 7-2 early in the 3rd. Although we battled for the rest of the game, the score eventually grew to 14-4 and a Mad Dog victory.

Here are some of the things we did well:

• Our 2M defense was sensational! As a former 2MG myself, it was great seeing the 2MGs battle it out against opponents who were holding, grabbing, and standing on the bottom. I know how much playing against those kind of 2M stinks. However, the referees did a nice job of rewarding good defense, and we ended up getting a lot of turnovers because of our defense. Special shout out to Colin Derdeyn, Andrew Link, Michael Kennedy, and Joe Goeddel for their great defense inside. Colin, even after getting jacked in the mouth and forced under so many times, did awesome in nearly shutting down a potential varsity All-Conference player.
• On that note, at the beginning of the game, we talked about making their worst players beat us. By the end of the game, the best player on Mad Dog had only ended up scoring one goal. So we did a great job of getting our best defenders matched up against their offensive players and slowing them down.
• Our team defense was really nice. If we fouled on the perimeter, I could probably count the number of times that we did on my fingers. It was awesome that we really made them pass under pressure rather than giving them free passes because we did not press-block properly. One of the reasons we created so many turnovers was also because our solid defense led them to push-off when they were trying to throw the ball.

Here are some things we did not do so well:

• We were 0-for-3 on 6-on-5s. The two main rules I have about passing on 6-on-5s are that 1) You should ALWAYS make safe passes and 2) NEVER throw a wet pass. In the course of our 6-on-5s, we broke both of these rules and ended up coming away with no goals. We are going to work on 6-on-5s more in practice this week, but it is better to slow down 6-on-5s then to pretty much give the ball back to the other team because we did not make smart decisions or to throw the ball to Timbuktu and waste our valuable 20s because we did not step up and throw a good pass.
• Especially at the beginning of the 3rd quarter, we did not make very safe passes. If the pass is not there, we should not throw it. As I said, I would rather us hold the ball for 29s and then dump it then throw it to the other team. Part of the blame for the poor passes obviously falls on the person making the pass. However, part of the blame also rests with the person counter-attacking. If you are going to counter-attack, you MUST look for the ball. It’s great if you are counter-attacking hard, but if you are not going to look for the ball, then what’s the point?

A few other random comments:

• All four of our goals were really nice. The shooting we came up with to put those goals in was awesome.
• Mad Dog was “sloughing” a lot on our 2M during that game. Although we have not talked about that kind of defense yet (as that is something not usually done at the JV level), our guys did a pretty nice job of deciding when it was a good idea to throw the ball in to the 2M and when it was not. So that is something else we did a pretty nice job of doing.
• As always, I loved the communication coming from the bench…Great job by everyone on the bench of helping their teammates in the water figure out what they should do.

So, although it was a 10 goal game, I loved the fight in our guys today. At half, before we started tiring, it was a three goal game. Last week, when I saw these guys play another team, I think it was a 10+ goal differential by half. Talking to a few of the guys who have watched that team play a bunch this season, I was told that that was the best a team has played against them all year.

So, I was very proud of our guys during the game today. Although I knew this game was going to be a challenge, I wanted them to play it because I thought that they would get something out of it. And with our conversation at the end, I think that we definitely did. Sometimes, it is the games like this where you grow the most. JCWP Green played really well, and I was extremely proud of their effort and their awareness in the water in playing these guys. Most teams would have come out with little motivation today since they knew they probably had little chance of succeeding. However, these guys came out ready to play. And while their endurance held up, JCWP Green gave Mad Dog their best game of the season.

Coach Ray

In a rematch game against Flyers B, JCWP Orange fell a little bit short of putting up a win.  The action started pretty much where it left off the last game: the Flyers used their speed and size to counter hard, while we tried to slow the game down and run a strong offensive set.  The difference in this game being the 10+ shots on goal we were unable to put in the back of the net, while the Flyers capitalized on most of their scoring opportunities. 

On the defensive side of the game we looked really good, causing the team to eat up their offensive clock and forcing bad passes with a strong press-block that rarely lead to a free pass.  I would say this was our best defensive effort in a game.  Throughout the game I heard players in the water calling for the team to get in the passing lanes to shut down the potential passes.  Also, the team was getting back to defensive quicker and calling for switches in mismatched circumstances.

Overall, I was happy to see the team come together and play a strong team defense, and even though we didn’t win today’s game, I think the players have a better idea of how to generate good scoring opportunities.  I hope all the JCWP Orange players had fun working with me and learned some from their experience with the team this Winter.

Thanks for all the effort this season.

-Coach Welch

Shocking!!  The Cats lost to a team that they beat earlier in the season.  We looked slow, apathetic, uninspired.  The team that came close to taking down Daisy the week before was nowhere to be seen. 

Offensively

—We could not hold a set.  We finally made the decision to swim the 2 meter out and run flat/wing picks.  First time we ran it we scored!!!!  Stick with what works.

—Play with more confidence.  When a lot of you receive the ball you look everywhere but the goal.  Kudos to Joe S.  for stepping in at the 7 and shooting a laser beam.  He missed by a hair but I was very proud of the fact that he had the confidence to step up and shoot.  Very few players on Black would have attempted that.

—If we steal the ball first look down the pool then if no one is countering go back to the goalie.  A lot of you steal the ball but never look forward and kill a potential counterattack goal.

—Off of a restart we need two people on the right side that want to get open.  We wasted 15 seconds on the shot clock multiple times as we waited to try and advance the ball down the pool.  TOO MUCH TIME to hold on to the ball.

Defensively

—Cannot turn the ball over.  Half of their goals were off of quick counters on us.  We either took a poor shot or made a poor pass.

—We did a solid job of helping out on their star player in the middle. 

—The purpose of press blocking is to force the opponent to use his weak arm.  We tend to forget this in the excitement of the game. 

Coach Cutelli

Jungle Cat Yellow lost a close one to SLAP on Saturday night.  The team looked apathetic.  Nothing seemed to be clicking on the defensive and offensive front.

Postitives

—At the beginning of the game we were getting shots on goal.  They might not have been the best shots but we were getting people open and creating oppurtunities.

Negatives

—We had tons of guys that can play 2 meter.  Find a favorable matchup and set on them.  They had one player that consistently guarded 2 meter and we continued to set on him.

—Their goalie made some solid saves early in the game.  He stoned us near side low 3-4 times.  If he keeps doing this then SHOOT CROSS GOAL HIGH.  I also think we backed away towards the second half of the game.  We were hesitant to shoot because of the saves the goalie had made.

—Defensively we needed to press hard.  We had a stud 2 meter defender but we kept cheating to the middle to help.  Until SLAP proved they had a player that could score one on one with our defender we need to press the lane hard.  We are a great counter attack team but once again we were too conservative on that front.  Take a chance.  Especially in the last 2-3 minutes of the game when we are down by a goal.  We need to score. 

—Lastly many of our players got frustrated.  As I always like to say “you control what you give, not what you get.” 

Coach Cutelli

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In JCWP Brown first double header, the team seemed to pull together and really play as a team for the most of 8 quarters (2 games).

10-3 vs. Mad Dog

The first quarter was sloppy in many ways. We were getting beat to the goal, but luckily Sullivan was playing in the shallow end and able to make a number of steals.

Through the rest of the game verse Mad Dog, JCWP Brown’s play was at a high caliber considering many of the problems we had last weekend. This weekend we were able to posses the ball on offense. We continued with getting a two-meter in quickly. Even more so we struggled setting the ball quickly when the two-meter was calling for the ball. But because we were able to win more 50-50 balls, limit our offensives, and use our whole shot clock, we were not back to defense.

The score reflected the fact that we were in control of the game the entire time.

7-3 vs. Daisy

This game was a defensive battle from the get go. Taking JCWP Brown up, the first goal did not come until a five meter at the end of the first quarter.

In the second two quarters of this game, we had offensive success unlike anything we had previously seen. Unlike weeks prior, many people meaningfully contributed to the offense. Victor Castro was able to draw a number of kick outs and moreover successful played two meter against guards that outweighed him. Brian was able to recover the ball after an outside shot and then score. Everyone on the seem made good decisions offensively and really helped take some of the pressure off our defense.

Through three quarters our defense had a shut out. At the start of the forth quart the score was 7-0. We were dominating the game. But like games past, out play faltered in the forth. We needed to realize that the game was not over and not won and continue to play like we had played in the second and third quarter. Unfortunately a 7-3 win is not as impressive as a 7-0 win would have been.

The other team was making extensive use of the bottom the entire game, and luckily the referees realized this and made the appropriate calls. Just a reminder to my team. Don’t use the bottom ever. I’m yelling at the referees about the other team using the bottom, and I see one of my own guys use the bottom, even momentarily or away from the ball, and it undermines the image of our team. Be tough and play the game right the entire game.

Good work this weekend.

Coach O’Neill

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In JCWP Brown first double header, the team seemed to pull together and really play as a team for the most of 8 quarters (2 games).

10-3 vs. Mad Dog

The first quarter was sloppy in many ways. We were getting beat to the goal, but luckily Sullivan was playing in the shallow end and able to make a number of steals.

Through the rest of the game verse Mad Dog, JCWP Brown’s play was at a high caliber considering many of the problems we had last weekend. This weekend we were able to posses the ball on offense. We continued with getting a two-meter in quickly. Even more so we struggled setting the ball quickly when the two-meter was calling for the ball. But because we were able to win more 50-50 balls, limit our offensives, and use our whole shot clock, we were not back to defense.

The score reflected the fact that we were in control of the game the entire time.

7-3 vs. Daisy

This game was a defensive battle from the get go. Taking JCWP Brown up, the first goal did not come until a five meter at the end of the first quarter.

In the second two quarters of this game, we had offensive success unlike anything we had previously seen. Unlike weeks prior, many people meaningfully contributed to the offense. Victor Castro was able to draw a number of kick outs and moreover successful played two meter against guards that outweighed him. Brian was able to recover the ball after an outside shot and then score. Everyone on the seem made good decisions offensively and really helped take some of the pressure off our defense.

Through three quarters our defense had a shut out. At the start of the forth quart the score was 7-0. We were dominating the game. But like games past, out play faltered in the forth. We needed to realize that the game was not over and not won and continue to play like we had played in the second and third quarter. Unfortunately a 7-3 win is not as impressive as a 7-0 win would have been.

The other team was making extensive use of the bottom the entire game, and luckily the referees realized this and made the appropriate calls. Just a reminder to my team. Don’t use the bottom ever. I’m yelling at the referees about the other team using the bottom, and I see one of my own guys use the bottom, even momentarily or away from the ball, and it undermines the image of our team. Be tough and play the game right the entire game.

Good work this weekend.

Coach O’Neill

 @font-face { font-family: “Times New Roman”; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: “Times New Roman”; }table.MsoNormalTable { font-size: 10pt; font-family: “Times New Roman”; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }In JCWP Brown’s first double header, the team seemed to pull together and really play as a team for the most of 8 quarters (2 games).

10-3 vs. Mad Dog

The first quarter was sloppy in many ways. We were getting beat to the goal, but luckily Sullivan was playing in the shallow end and able to make a number of steals.

Through the rest of the game verse Mad Dog, JCWP Brown’s play was at a high caliber considering many of the problems we had last weekend. This weekend we were able to posses the ball on offense. We continued with getting a two-meter in quickly. Even more so we struggled setting the ball quickly when the two-meter was calling for the ball. But because we were able to win more 50-50 balls, limit our offensives, and use our whole shot clock, we were not back to defense.

The score reflected the fact that we were in control of the game the entire time.

7-3 vs. Daisy

This game was a defensive battle from the get go. Taking JCWP Brown up, the first goal did not come until a five meter at the end of the first quarter.

In the second two quarters of this game, we had offensive success unlike anything we had previously seen. Unlike weeks prior, many people meaningfully contributed to the offense. Victor Castro was able to draw a number of kick outs and moreover successful played two meter against guards that outweighed him. Brian was able to recover the ball after an outside shot and then score. Everyone on the seem made good decisions offensively and really helped take some of the pressure off our defense.

Through three quarters our defense had a shut out. At the start of the forth quart the score was 7-0. We were dominating the game. But like games past, out play faltered in the forth. We needed to realize that the game was not over and not won and continue to play like we had played in the second and third quarter. Unfortunately a 7-3 win is not as impressive as a 7-0 win would have been.

The other team was making extensive use of the bottom the entire game, and luckily the referees realized this and made the appropriate calls. Just a reminder to my team. Don’t use the bottom ever. I’m yelling at the referees about the other team using the bottom, and I see one of my own guys use the bottom, even momentarily or away from the ball, and it undermines the image of our team. Be tough and play the game right the entire game.

Good work this weekend.

Coach O’Neill

JCWP Green took care of business once again, defeating SLAP 16 Blue by a score of 15-8. It was a fairly close game until the 3^rd quarter, when the line of Colin Derdeyn, Franklin Rosario, Joe Goeddel, Tim Nile, and company joined in to bust the game open.  

Here are some of the highlights of the game for me:

• We had two plays that really stood out to me as being phenomenal. On the first one, Eric Caselton got in front of his man, and in order to protect his water, bridged his defender all the way down the pool. John Drury, playing in goal, threw a great pass to Eric, and with a defender right on his back, Eric shot a great off-the-water shot at the goal. Although the shot did not go in, I loved Eric’s awareness in the water, and it was a great play.
• The second phenomenal play occurred when SLAP had the ball right outside the 5M line on their defensive end of the pool. After an offensive foul they had just committed (I can’t remember what it was…whether it was a push-off or two hands on the ball or what), Colin Derdeyn swam up to the ball and took an immediate shot and scored. It was incredible awareness and a great play. After the game, I was talking to some other coaches on the sideline, and they were talking amongst themselves whether their HS team varsity players would have had enough awareness to swim up to the ball right after a turnover and have their first thought be shot. I loved that play.
• We played some great passing lane defense. Of our 15 goals, probably at least 10 were counter-attack goals. This was because we got in the passing lane and did a great job of stealing marginal passes.
• Two other plays I enjoyed came when our 2M got the ball at 2M and was able to do something with it. One time, Peter Brooks released and Matt Jellenik scored on a nice sweep shot. The other time, Joe Goeddel released and Franklin Rosario took a great shot on goal. There were a couple things I talked about associated with these plays at the end of the game.

1. The quicker we can get the ball to the 2M, the quicker we can start making things happen on offense, and usually the better the chance we have of scoring.
2. WET PASSES ARE IMPORTANT! I am still frustrated many times at our inability to throw GOOD wet passes. Wet passes need to have a nice touch on them and hit the water about an arm’s length away from the 2M. Wet passes should not be skipping or being chucked in the general direction of the 2M.
3. Utilize match-ups!! I was really happy about the Brooks-Jellenik goal because I had just finished telling Peter and Matt that the guy with the better match-up needed to go set. Peter was guarded by one of his former teammates, and Matt was guarded by some smaller kid. So, Peter swam out, Matt swam in, and we got a goal out of it. Match-ups are important!!! I think we are now at the level where we should be thinking about this every game.

• The other thing I really liked was our 6-on-5 defense. SLAP called a timeout as soon as they got a 6-on-5, and during the TO, we talked about making their worst player shoot the ball. I had Matt guard their big lefty 1-on-1, and Matt did a great job of taking him out of the play. We ended up forcing a shot from the 4 position, and the shot went over the goal. So, I thought we did a really good job of executing there.
• Also, a shout out to John Drury, who played an excellent game in goal. I like his aggressiveness in getting the ball down the pool. Although it did not always work out for us, I like when the goalies play more aggressively than not. And when it did work, he set-up a number of awesome opportunities for us in front of their goal.

So, we did a lot of awesome things during the game. Here are a few of the things we need to improve upon:

• We got countered way too much at the end of that game. We especially got countered by their big lefty. I have said this many of times before, but if the player you are guarding is faster than you, you really need to look to go to defense. If you keep getting beat back to defense, you are doing something wrong. Especially in the 4^th when we were up by at least 5 or 6, you should NEVER get beat back to defense. NEVER!!! If you need to, cheat back to defense.
• And as I said, we want to make their worst player be the one who has to beat us; we do not want to give their best player (the big lefty) all the opportunities that he had. We need to do a better job of matching up.

Anyway, solid win once again. JCWP Green continues to improve, and I love seeing their improvement from week to week.

Coach Ray

Today’s game saw a lot of great team defense, as well as some strong offensive sets from our 2 meters.  Starting off in the first half our team managed to take a 3-2 lead with some strong work from our 2 meters.  Defensively our team was able to keep the Flyers off balance by staying in the lanes and putting a lot of pressure on the offensive player with a strong press-block.  

It was in the 3rd quarter when our team really started to put the pressure on: going on a 3-1 offensive spurt that saw a lot of strong counterattacks and fancy moves from our 2 meters.  At one point, I recall seeing a backhand shot that barred out.  The moves displayed from our 2 meters caused the other team to double-team our 2 meters, thus leaving our perimeter players open for 5-6 meter shots.  Unfortunately, we were unable to convert on these opportunities, but will be ready to take advantage of these chances in later games.

In the 4th quarter JCWP Orange had a 6-3 lead and were feeling very comfortable, which is part of the reason why we were unable to hold on to the lead.  The team allowed 3 counterattack goals that could have been prevented if we were more conscious about getting back to defense early.  Offensively, our team continued to put pressure on, but found ourselves taking ill-advised shots that allowed the other team to effectively counter on us.  Also, there seemed to be some confusion with our 2 main 2 meters, resulting in an unbalanced offense.  In future games we will need to work on clock management, as well as counterattack prevention.

Overall, I was quite pleased with the team’s performance and think we are starting to play together as a team, which is very far from where we were the first game. 

Coach Welch