speaker-0: Welcome to this podcast.

speaker-1: Water Polo Expert Talk. Get the insights.

speaker-1: Good. Yeah, so as I already mentioned, so welcome back, Alex, to the next session between the two of us. So I already mentioned that the last session, the first recording is two and a half years ago. So welcome back after a long period of time. So I would assume that during these two and a half years, there are so many things going on on your side. So, and we appreciate that you take the time to tell us a little bit more about all the things happened in the meantime. Maybe, yeah. So maybe we do not have enough time to cover all of that.

speaker-0: Maybe we need another session.

speaker-1: Absolutely. So this time we do not need two and a half years right now to prepare that. So maybe let's start with the most important one that you will receive a little baby this year. Yes.

speaker-0: Yes, end of May, baby girl. Very, very excited. Yeah.

speaker-1: Okay Yeah, so very excited. And how is it going in the meantime? So all the preparations are ready and ongoing? Or what tells you why?

speaker-0: Yes, I mean, it's hard being away from her during the pregnancy because she's back home in San Diego. saying everything come together and we're almost ready. She's 30 weeks right now. And yeah, 10 more weeks. good. It's crazy. I'm so excited to be a dad. Also just extremely terrified, know, it's the, there's a dichotomy to it.

speaker-1: Yeah, so I would say, yeah, so it's very excited. I can agree on that. Yeah. So especially when it to first one for sure. So that's, I think the normal situation. But you already mentioned that you are far away from her most of the time, I guess. Yeah. So what do you expect there or what was the biggest difficulties you have during the time maybe? between the fact to be away, so that's it.

speaker-0: It's just being away is the hardest part. Not being able to help as much, I mean, communication isn't our problem. mean, we are able to talk and FaceTime and video call all the time, or at least two, three times a day. we've got that, and that's really the way to survive, really. But yeah, just, just not being there in person has been the kind of the toughest part for, for, for me and for her.

speaker-1: Okay, so what is then maybe the, let's say, plan for the future? So a little bit to be a little bit more concrete. So when the babies arrived, so you are still here in Europe.

speaker-0: the

speaker-1: Okay, yeah. So I think that's then, yeah, also a very important point. Yes. this to a good end to be there when it's really the, let's say the magic happens. Yeah. and then will she move also to Spain or would it be a long distance, whatever? So,

speaker-0: We're figuring that out.

speaker-1: Yeah, so it's complicated from my point of view at least. couldn't imagine how complicated this for you both.

speaker-0: Yes, yes, it's it's it is complicated and we're just we're just figuring out as we go right now. Okay, one thing done one thing done at a time, you know.

speaker-1: Yeah, so the next big achievement then is end of May. So during May when you reach the final. So not really in a sports perspective, but a little bit more important achievements. Cool. Yeah. So in this case, the most important point we already covered. But let's come back to the other topic regarding Vodapolo.

speaker-0: Yeah.

speaker-1: It was also last two and half years, so many going on. You moved from Paris or France to Spain. There was Olympics in between and of last year. So it was, I guess, a crazy, crazy year for you.

speaker-0: Oh yeah, no, absolutely. It's been, I mean, last year was absolutely incredible. mean, Olympics, getting married and then going to Spain. it was quite the six, like, it was like a six week period of like getting the medal, coming home, getting the wedding ready, having the wedding, honeymoon and then Spain. And then I think I was I was here for like four or five days before playing Champions League, so it was quite the quite the six weeks.

speaker-1: So maybe then the preparation was exactly the right one for you. So when you're emotional, not really the preparation from swimming and shooting and whatever. So you have adrenaline from somewhere else.

speaker-0: Yeah, exactly. But no, was, I mean, absolutely incredible. mean, the the I mean, well, I'm sure we're going to talk a lot more about the Olympics. But like the wedding went off without a hitch. We had a had a blast. Had most of the teammates there, most of the guys that I played with from the US team there. And I mean, the ceremony was was was perfect. And we had we had a great time. And afterwards went to Mexico, had a good honeymoon, then swept off and back to Europe.

speaker-1: Business as usual back to Europe. And back to Europe brings us to the move, let's say that way, from France to Spain. So you play right now for Sabadell, so which is, I guess, also the next logical step maybe coming from France or playing in France for Paris and then really looking for the next Yeah, next achievement or next step in water polo career and how it comes to this move. So to Sabadell at the end.

speaker-0: I mean, uh, had a good connection through, uh, assistant coach from the national team. Gavin Arroyo played for Kim Collette many years ago. Um, and we came here, uh, November, October, 2023. Um, we had a training camp here with the national team with, uh, with Sawadell and, um, with, with Barcelona Neta and made the, made the connection there. Um, We had the training trip with the national team in preparation for Pan American games. was timing wise was awful for the season because I ended up missing three games, three or four games in the French league just because I mean, we had Pan American games. It's our way to qualify for the Olympics and everything. So they were understanding, but also I mean, I missed a lot. of ended up coming back, playing in the cup. But yeah, it worked out really well for us there. And Pan American games were very well done. We're in Santiago, Chile. was my first time there. They did a great job running it. think every Pan Ams that I've been to has been run very well. Good spot. I mean, the first one was Toronto in 2015, and then we were in Lima for 2019, then Santiago. I think the next one is Colombia.

speaker-1: okay. Yeah. that next next location on the bucket list. South of Dale, you have the training camp or preparation camp with the US team then in Barcelona, I guess. And based on the good connections you already have then comes to the conclusion, okay, maybe that that club is maybe then the next good step for you. I guess, right? Yeah.

speaker-0: Yeah, mean, introductions really were made there and I was able to talk a little bit and keep the conversation going for the next year. Just because we knew like kind of saw by the by the halfway through the season, we kind of knew there was something happening with the club. as you saw with with with what happened with Serkal, now they're in the third division with the French League. had some money problems and everything. everything, they ran everything well. don't think it was a problem necessarily within the club, but some outside influences and that kind of stuff really kind of hurt the team, which happens.

speaker-1: Yeah, so at least at the end for you personally the right decision. Yeah, so to move it, know maybe, know, exactly, so new things and how things are going maybe in the future and then also try to reach out to other clubs really at the first moments of these kind of miracle coming up in France.

speaker-0: Yeah, but I ended up signing relatively late. I think I had a couple options, but this was just the most...

speaker-1: Okay, most of.

speaker-0: made the most sense.

speaker-1: Especially in the area of Barcelona, you mentioned Barcelona, the other Barcelona club, then Sabadell and all the kinds of water polo clubs around Barcelona. I think it's really different, one of the best countries maybe first of all, but also best areas to grow at least at your level, maybe there's some space to grow at least. and have fun during the game and during the season, so to win titles, medals and whatever. So I think also this season, this year went very well, yeah, right, with Sabadell.

speaker-0: Yes, so far it's been going going very well. We've got the second quarterfinal in Kotor on Thursday. So we leave tomorrow morning. Very excited for that game and moving forward. so we have. You got.

speaker-1: Sorry, I don't want to interrupt you.

speaker-0: No, no, it's all right. Yeah, we have that. We have two more games left in the season. So playing the next round in Euro Cup is our aim, is our goal. we're in the capacity.

speaker-1: Yeah, so already many times regarding then also the Barcelona and Barcelona clubs. I would guess that makes a lot of fun to play against them. At least when you maybe not have every time the winning on your side. But at least from an experience point of view, maybe it does really make sense then also for growing and training and also get prepared for the next national team things coming up. And maybe then also some guys from Hanover also, Finchutze is also playing with you together,

speaker-0: Yes, yes, Finn's great. We love working with him on the right side. I haven't been on a lot of teams with left-handers.

speaker-1: the

speaker-0: The way of how things work. It's great. Finn's great in and out of the pool. Excited to have him on the team.

speaker-1: Yeah. So maybe then our team here in Latsen is not the right team for you because we do have three left-handers. Wow. A coach is here. So maybe then in the, let's say, last period of your career, so we can talk about any signing when you have the experience to play together with three left-handers, maybe, at the end, somehow. But I guess we do have not the funding and the money for that. But maybe. Who knows what the future brings. So let's talk about a little bit about the big topic about last year. You already mentioned the Olympic Games and the bronze medal and the first medal for the US team, right? Or the first really big...

speaker-0: 2008 silver with in Beijing. And so that's our first medal since then. And before that, I think was 88 also silver 88 and 84 silvers with that team. it's been a while since we've made it to the podium. Yeah. It's been, I mean, It was an incredible experience.

speaker-1: Yeah, so maybe before we talk about the end, the happy end at the end, maybe you have some things in mind you can guide us a little bit through the Olympic Games during the different stages of the tournament. So what was the first games you had?

speaker-0: Yeah, first game we had Italy. No, no, no, not an easy start at all, but we knew it was important and unfortunately didn't go the way we wanted it to. Obviously we lost that game. Kind of got away from us in the fourth quarter and it was very much like, okay, in the Olympics, it's with the bracket play and knowing that you just, need to be

speaker-1: Not an easy slot.

speaker-0: You can't be in the bottom two because otherwise you're out. So like in Rio, we were in that position. ended up losing to, we lost to Croatia, Spain, Montenegro, and well, but we beat Italy and we beat France. But the points put us in fifth. for the group. we were eliminated there. then in Tokyo, the bracket we had, we had South Africa and Japan. So we knew that we needed to win those two games to move on. And then we had Japan first. playing the obviously Tokyo Olympics were I mean, crazy with COVID and everything and no fans in the stands playing against the home team in their home country. First game most probably it was the most important game of the, of the, of the Olympics for, for, for us and for them, because it really, uh, ensured we would make it in or where we'd have a harder road to get to, to, to get in. Um, and then this time it was, it was similar. You, you look at the guy, you look at the teams. The first two teams we beat, so we lose to Italy and then we have Romania next and it's a must win situation. Romania is young, have some talent and I think in the future they will be better. But I think we were stronger than them at that point and we took advantage. We won and it was just a check mark. We needed to make sure that we got past them. Also kind of get it off our back a little bit that we have a win, we can continue going on and then we have Greece next. Another disappointing game. Close again, but I think game got away from us a little bit and lose that game and it comes down to us in Montenegro, which I think from...

speaker-0: There, think from our perspective, and I think from their, I think they had a similar perspective and it's, this was the game, this was the most important game. Like I said, with, with Tokyo, like us against Japan, us against Montenegro is the most important game just to get in the top four. And yeah, it was, I mean, we played phenomenal in that game. We played amazing, like going into that game, we knew that later, looking at the stats and everything, knew that Montenegro was playing incredible on six on five. They were running a three three and they had a really good, they were, were setting up everything really well. The shooters were doing, we're getting open shots and everything. And I think a lot of the teams were struggling against it and, um, game plan. We figured a game plan out with it like 48 hours before and ended up working. No, no, no. mean, we, it was, we, we, made a drastic change in the, in the game plan. And I think, um, we had the talent to be able to do that. And. It's, it's kind of funny because if you go back and look at the game, it's, I don't think they, they knew what was going to happen. And we, we, we, we changed our, our five man from, cause we played against them. We had them in the U S for, training, earlier that year, we, we had, well earlier that summer. So we had played three games against them, two or three games against them. And I mean, they were doing the same thing with six on five for. the last year at least, and they were doing a really phenomenal job. And then you look at the game that we played against them and the change that we made, and we were able to cut that off for them. And our five man defense in that game was the best I think we've ever had. We did a really, really good job with the game plan change and everything, it threw them off balance. I think it really gave us the win in that respect, just because we knew that we were going to be able to score our goals on offense and we knew that we were able to get open. We just needed to make sure that we, I mean, the classic, just need to stop them from scoring more than us. So, but yeah, no, was, that was a really key moment for us being able to go into that game knowing that it was a do or die situation.

speaker-0: being able to have the confidence from that game moving forward and also just having the, like, during the game, just having the trust in each other to make the stops. yeah, I think that confidence from that game, I think that rolled into our next game against Croatia. And winning that one, too, was just a bonus at that point. Like, we got into the top four. We knew that we were going to continue to play and knowing that Spain was on the other side in the first position, mean, obviously you don't want to have to play them first. I mean, because the success they've had over the last four years was, last three years was, I mean, great. mean, they're a very, very good team, very fast, very physical, very talented at every level. And we also had trained with them.

speaker-1: Basically.

speaker-0: And I mean, we had, we trained with four teams before the Olympics and it was Montenegro, Greece, Croatia, and Spain. Not in that order, it was, I mean, you want to train with the best. it's, we knew what we were, what we were up against and, playing it like, I mean, we, we, we played our heart out again. That Croatia game played really well. and came out with that. came out came with a win so we ended up playing Australia in the quarterfinal who had who was on fire in the group stage. I mean some some really really great wins for them. Best I've seen Australia play and I mean it's like yeah they just they they played the best I've ever seen Australia play and I mean kudos to them but it was It wasn't so much that we were looking forward to playing them because we knew that they were, they were on a hot streak and we knew that it was going to come down to like coming like in that game, knew it didn't matter who you're playing. It's a quarterfinal game. have to win. And, going down early to, to brutality. really set us off in the wrong direction. I think we've played Australia so many times. We know them very well, they know us very well. It was going to be a tough game. We knew it was going to be a tough game. Losing Johnny Hooper early was difficult. But being able to stick around and stay together, play good defense, make our stops and everything. And I think we ended up coming out of the brutality down two. I think it was four-two at that point. And we just kept chipping away, chipping away, chipping away.

speaker-0: Yeah, I mean, like it was that definitely one of the definitely the one of the highlights of my career in that game. And that game is definitely one of highlights of my career. It was and for USA Waterpolo in general, just because just to get to the semifinals, which we haven't done in all since 2008. It's been been a long been a long road since then. But it was and. Uh, knowing that my teammates trusted me to take the last shot to score, to tie it up and then going into a shootout and how great Adrian played and just knowing that everybody was going to put away their, their penalties to move on to the next round. And it was, uh, I mean, but probably one of my, probably my favorite game. I mean.

speaker-1: But when you mentioned, really, this is for most of the people really, yeah, no situation which will occur during their life that you have the chance to play Olympic quarterfinals, semifinal, and then have a shootout. Yeah. That's, I would expect a really special situation where you have to be ready. mentally on so many aspects I would say. Is it such a special thing at the end?

speaker-0: you