Official Club Name: Pacific Polo Water Polo Club
On the Net: www.pacificpolo.net
Director of Club: Ian Mckercher and Kurt Hatch
Coaches: Ian Mckercher, Kurt Hatch, and AJ Ferrill
Age Groups: 10U Co-Ed, 12 U, 14U, 16U, 18U Boys and Girls
Where is the homebase?: The club calls the Westview High School pool home along with the Mount Carmel High School pool.
How Did They Start?: Pacific started very humbly as a summer camp 10 years ago at the Rancho Bernardo Westwood Club. Ian Mckercher was the aquatic director and added water polo to the summer swim program. With the help of friend and former teammate Kurth Hatch the two made some makeshift goals out of PVC piping and got things started. From creating goals in the front yard of his parent's house Mckercher rounded up an intial group of 14 boys and girls, some of who preferred board shorts over standard speedos. Both Mckercher and Hatch just wanted to give kids an opportunity to play the game they loved so much and that is what has fueled Pacific.
Where Do They Play?: The club is very active taking part in a host of tournaments including but not limited to the San Diego County Cup, Los Alamitos Winterfest, the CHAWP John Hale tourney, the Commerce Invitationals, Junior Olympcs, the San Diego Grommet League, and their very own Pacific Fall and Winter Classics.
What's Next?: The goal of Pacific is to continue to grow the club and keep it fun and competitive at the same time. The club is putting a strong focus on the 10U and 12U players who will hopefully be the future of Pacific water polo. They would also like to join the Cal Cup series and play against the best teams in the state. The club also wants to improve up their finish at Junior Olympics. Currently their best finish was a 13th place mark, three years ago by the 14 and under boys. That team has grown up to be this years qualifying 18 and under team which has already qualified for this summer's S & R Sport Junior Olympics in Northern California. The club will take four teams to JOs, the most ever in their history.
A Higher Education: Though relatively new on the club scene Pacific has started to see some of their players move on to the college game. As they continue to develop and grow those numbers will likely only grown.
Chris Rancourt - University of the Pacific
Chris Hartman - Whittier
Ryan Rock - Whittier
Cameron Lew - Whittier
Jackie Crosy - Siena
Katriina Thoreson - Whittier
Cabot Ferrill - Redlands
Come One, Come All!: Getting involved with Pacific Polo Water Polo Club is easy and they welcome all interested players. They offer free trial weeks to see if water polo and there club is something you might enjoy. There is also a bring a friend to practice promotion they offer designed to get more and more athletes involved.
For more information on the club or to get involved visit their website at
www.pacificpolo.net.