Olympic Water Polo Medal winners Brenda Villa and Merrill Moses came to Central Florida last week to coach students at the Fourth Annual YCF Water Polo Camp, hosted by the YMCA Aquatic Center. 65 varsity and aspiring water polo players from around Central Florida attended for the opportunity to learn from the Olympians, Brown University Water Polo Coach Felix Mercado, Dr. Phillips Coach Leo Ramirez and Olympia coach Stephanie Possell.
The campers learned how to improve their individual skills in shooting, passing, and positioning, and how to employ team strategies. They also received life lessons from four-time Olympian and gold medal winner Villa, who said, “At five foot four I was told I was too small to play at the highest level. Yet I played in four Olympics. I told them if they work hard, anything is possible.”
Moses won silver with the Men’s team and is now the assistant coach at Pepperdine University. He congratulated the campers on taking the extra step to attend in the off-season to improve their skills. He said, “I’m glad to be here to help build the future of water polo in Central Florida. I will definitely be back next year.”
The 65 players that attended represent a 30% increase over last year. The Aquatic Center already has reserved January 2-5, 2014 for next year’s camp, which they hope will attract over 100 attendees. The Aquatic Center offers year-round water polo programs for players ranging from grade school age to 65. For more information contact the Aquatic Center at 407-363-1911.
