Last week, Amador Valley Girls Water Polo hosted their annual Tri-Valley Tournament. The tournament helps support the program’s funding while giving the team more experience before heading into NCS.
“I created [the tournament] in my second season coaching because I felt like we needed to get more exposure to other teams outside of NCS,” said Varsity Head Coach Tim Reilly.
Over the years, the tournament has grown from eight teams to thirty-two, where teams from as far as Oregon come to play. The tournament usually generates around $5,000.
“It really helps offset the cost of water polo. Swimsuits are expensive, even with some costs being offset, I think we spend almost $800,” said AV Parent, Vicky Thalman.
Parents support the tournament in many ways, by volunteering to staff all the positions, setting up, selling tickets, running the game book and the shot clock and ensuring the tournament runs smoothly.
“There are parents who take the day off to [help out]. It’s so special for parents to do that. You want everybody to do it, but you’ve got a core group, and they are just wonderful. I wish I could give them all awards too,” said Riley.
Coach Riley played his part in cooperating the entire event with the other teams. By handling the recruitment process and communicating with coaches of the participating teams, he helped the schedule of the tournament play out smoothly.
“I was responsible for the website, setting up ticketing, volunteer schedule, designing and ordering t-shirts, trophies, and communications with the other three school host sites,” said Team Parent, Jennifer Amiel.
The hosts sites were the nearby high schools of Foothill, Granada, Livermore, and of course Amador Valley High School, each hosting at least seven games per day. The team sold t-shirts and other merchandise as a way to raise money for the team.
Reilly reflected that the tournament was one of his lasting legacies to water polo at Amador.
“I just love it. It’s my gift [to the school] and I hope it continues to go on after I retire,” said Reilly.
