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Asphalt Green’s David Rodriguez Wants Water Polo Growth in NYC

Published

4 months ago

September 3, 2025

Asphalt Green’s David Rodriguez Has High Hopes for Water Polo Growth in NYC

On Wednesday night, history will be made at Asphalt Green (AG) on New York City’s Upper East Side. Two professional water polo clubs—Italy’s Pro Recco, whose 11 Champions League titles make it the world’s best, and Ferencvaros of Hungary, winner of the last two Champions League titles—will face American college teams, the first time such matches have ever taken place in The Big Apple.

On Thursday night, Pro Recco and Ferencvaros will face off in a friendly match.

That this should happen in the city’s premiere aquatic facility is as it should be. Ever since the venerable swimming and fitness center opened its doors in 1984, AG has been the go-to location for New York City’s best swimming.

When UCLA, currently the top squad in the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Men’s varsity poll, faces Pro Recco, the stands will be packed with polo fans from around the region. The nightcap features Princeton, the Garden State’s prized polo squad, playing Ferencvaros, whose squad has never been to NYC, unlike their Italian rivals who in 2002 played an exhibition against the U.S. men’s national team. That was the last time a water polo event of any magnitude occurred in the country’s media capital.

Courtesy: Asphalt Green

It’s no coincidence that at this moment David Rodriguez, longest-tenured head swim coach in AG’s history, is thinking big about polo. When Pro Recco owners Philip Hammarskjold and Alex Behring dreamed a year ago of a splash for their newly acquired club, they thought of NYC. Which brought them to Rodriguez and AG’s plans to make polo more than something locals think about at Olympic times—or once every four years.

Following is an abbreviated version of a recent interview with David Rodriguez. For the full text, please click on this link.

AG has an opportunity with water polo—next week Pro Recco and Ferencvaros will play one of the highest profile polo matches in NYC history. There’s often a split between swim people and water polo people. As the aquatic director, you oversee two different programs with natural rivalries.

Having an elite swim program and elite water polo program under the same umbrella is another piece we’re trying to achieve. My background is as competitive swimmer; through and through that was my passion. But I was exposed to water polo and played water polo throughout my high school career with some really great water polo coaches—and grew a lot of fandom for the sport itself and working together being a useful tool for kids to parlay into their professional lives.

Through careful leadership [AG polo] has evolved into a respectable program. What if we were to put our foot on the gas and try to become an elite program?

The combination of our coaches, my competitive nature and AG’s focus on the sports fitness and play for all we’ve decided to put our foot on the gas and see if we can get a water polo program that can hold up to what we’ve done from a swimming perspective.

There’re many competing forces, AG, a nonprofit with a very clear mission, to get as many people as possible in the water. On the flip side is AG’s many different constituencies—and now you are considering expanding water polo—and what that means to pool usage and your clientele.

I say it a little bit tongue in cheek, but the reality is that if you ask each of the constituencies, they’d all be mad at me and all be wanting more.

And I think that that’s when the lens that we use on all of this is through our mission… the concept of sports, fitness and play for all.

How do we chop it up? That’s a challenge! For our competitive team, we all must make compromises on pool time. Our water polo program, if they had more pool time would be better.

One of the blessings in disguise of all this is that our athletes on AGUA and ultimately water polo learn that [aquatics] is about something so much bigger than just their competitive teams. And the ability to provide access and to give opportunities that they have is at the core of what we’re teaching the kids. We’re teaching the kids to be advocates and better citizens and do things when they leave our program.

One of our athletes, Ali Wright, recently took the initiative and raised over $70,000 by herself to support our community programs. If we keep everything separate—only competitive teams here in this pool or community swimmers, there—they’d never see that.

I don’t think we perfected it, but I think that we found a good balance between having everybody cheerlead all the things that we’re doing [while] giving everybody what they need.

To finish up, there are rumors out there that AG wants more water, that if you could find the land, you’d build another facility.

We look at this in two ways. It’s not only expansion, but also maintenance and preservation of our current landscape as well, which is the two sides of the coin. Right now, we shut down both of our pools for two weeks to refurb/rehab, do all those things to continue to deliver [program] at a high level at our home site. We helped rehab the pool at River East which hadn’t been open since 2015. It’s not only building on our campus, but also looking for [aquatic] assets sprinkled across the city—that could potentially work for us and what we’re trying to do.

We’re doing due diligence on our research and seeing what’s possible on our campuses. We know we are bursting at the seams looking for more pool space and water. If there’s an opportunity that makes sense for the organization, I’m confident that we’ll jump on it.

Michael Randazzo (the Man with a Hat) is a swimming & water polo enthusiast in New York City. He’s the executive director of Inclusive Community Wellness, a Brooklyn-based NPO that provides health and wellness opportunities to New Yorkers. When he’s not on a pool deck helping children and adults learn to swim, Randazzo occasionally writes about water polo, a sport he never played and barely understands.

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Emerald Acres Volleyball Tournament | MyRadioLink.com

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3 hours ago

January 2, 2026

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Emerald Acres Volleyball Tournament | MyRadioLink.com

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Former Illini basketball sharpshooter Luke Goode engaged to Illinois volleyball star Kayla Burbage

Published

3 hours ago

January 2, 2026

Your Sports Nation

Love is in the air for two of Champaign’s top athletes in recent years. Former Illini men’s basketball wing Luke Goode popped the question to Illinois volleyball middle blocker Kayla Burbage, the couple shared via Instagram on Wednesday.

“Proverbs 18:22: ‘He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the Lord,’” Goode wrote. “Going into the New Years as future Mr. and Mrs. Goode!”

Goode spent the first three years of his college career in Champaign, graduating from the Gies School of Business in 2024 with a bachelor’s degree in finance. After his sophomore season was cut short due to a foot injury, Goode bounced back as a junior, playing in all 38 games for the 2024 Elite Eight team. That season, the 6-foot-7 sharpshooter averaged 5.7 points and shot 38.9% from three on just over four attempts per game.

Last season, Goode spent his final year of eligibility playing for his home state Indiana Hoosiers before turning pro. He is currently suiting up for the South Bay Lakers in the NBA G League. In 11 games so far as a rookie, Goode is putting up 7.6 points and 3.0 rebounds in just above 20 minutes per game.

Burbage just finished up her final season of college volleyball. After spending her freshman campaign at Missouri, Burbage decided to make the move to Champaign. As a sophomore and junior, Burbage played in every match on Illinois’ schedule: 60 total. A shoulder injury sidelined the 6-foot-4 North Carolina native for her senior season, but she returned for a graduate year in 2025. In her final season at Huff Hall, Burbage ranked second in total blocks (82.0) for the Illini and had the fifth-most kills on the team (98).

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Hawkeyes Knock Down Nebraska – Iowa Hawkeyes Athletics

Published

3 hours ago

January 2, 2026

Your Sports Nation

IOWA CITY, Iowa – No. 14 Iowa (12-2, 3-0) defeated No. 20 Nebraska (12-2, 1-2) on New Years Day inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena, 86-76.

Sophomore Chit-Chat Wright dominated the day for the Hawkeyes with a career-high 24 points, three assists, and two steals. Senior Hannah Stuelke followed with 21 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists to notch her third double-double of the season.

The Huskers came out to a fast-paced 8-0 run to start the game. Stuelke got the scoring started for Iowa by getting to the line, sinking both free-throws. Three minutes into gameplay, the Hawkeyes began to capitalize on Nebraska miscues. Sophomore Ava Heiden led a 7-0 run for Iowa to bring the gap to 9-12 with 4:46 left in the quarter. The Huskers contained a narrow 21-18 lead headed into the second quarter.

Wright drained a three-pointer to start the second period, tying up the score for the first time on the day. The Hawkeyes went on to gain nine points on seven forced Husker turnovers in the half. Heiden led the quarter with eight points going 4-for-4 on field goals. A combined 26 points, shooting 66.7 percent in the quarter, left Iowa behind 44-45 at half.

The Hawkeyes came out of the locker room with an 8-2 run to put them in front. Iowa forced four Husker turnovers in the first three minutes of the third quarter, capitalizing five points off of them. Stuelke continued to be a difference maker for Iowa with seven points and two rebounds. This momentum pushed Iowa up 64-61 heading into the fourth.

In the final quarter, the Hawkeyes continued their defensive pursuit, forcing five more turnovers, adding to their total of 18 on the day. Senior Taylor McCabe hit a three-point basket at 4:32 to power Iowa to the end. The Hawkeyes pushed out a 15-6 run to secure a Hawkeye victory.

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Dallas Pulse set to make history in season opener at Comerica Center

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5 hours ago

January 2, 2026

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North Texas’ first women’s professional volleyball team will officially launch its inaugural season on Saturday, Jan. 10.

DALLAS — For North Texas volleyball fans, Saturday’s season opener represents more than just a first serve, it’s the beginning of something the region has been waiting for.

The Dallas Pulse, the region’s first women’s professional volleyball team, will open its inaugural season Saturday, Jan. 10, hosting the Indiana franchise at Comerica Center in Frisco.

The matchup marks the first Major League Volleyball game played by a Dallas-based team and is a milestone moment for the metroplex.

The Pulse will play 14 home matches during the 2026 Major League Volleyball season, giving local fans a consistent opportunity to support a women’s pro team built in their own backyard.

Saturday, Jan. 10 – Indy
Thursday, Jan. 15 – San Diego
Thursday, Feb. 5 – Omaha
Sunday, Feb. 8 – Grand Rapids
Thursday, Feb. 19 – Indy
Sunday, Feb. 22 – Grand Rapids
Friday, Feb. 27 – Orlando
Friday, March 13 – Columbus
Sunday, March 15 – Atlanta
Saturday, March 21 – San Diego
Thursday, March 26 – Atlanta
Friday, April 17 – Columbus
Friday, May 1 – Omaha
Sunday, May 3 – Orlando

Leading the team into its first season is head coach Shannon Winzer, who was named to the role in September. The January debut places Dallas at the center of the league’s early growth as women’s professional volleyball continues to gain momentum nationwide.

The timing feels right for North Texas. The region has long been a volleyball hotbed, producing elite athletes through nationally recognized club programs, championship high school teams and top-tier collegiate programs. Until now, many of those players, and the fans who followed them, had no local professional team to rally behind.

Dallas Pulse leadership told WFAA that they hope to change that.

Season ticket deposits are currently open, and the Pulse holds the No. 1 overall pick in the Major League Volleyball Draft scheduled for Nov. 24, giving the team a chance to add a cornerstone player ahead of its debut season.

Major League Volleyball is also preparing for future growth, announcing plans to add expansion teams in Washington, D.C. and Northern California in 2027.

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Iola outside hitter takes top honor on Texas 2A all-state volleyball team | APG State News

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6 hours ago

January 2, 2026

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Tritons Set for Preseason North American Challenge

Published

7 hours ago

January 2, 2026

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LONG BEACH, Calif. — UC San Diego men’s volleyball will prepare for the upcoming season with four exhibitions this weekend as part of the North American Challenge. The event will be hosted by Long Beach State on Friday and Sunday at the LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid.

The Tritons will play two Canadian sides, Alberta and Calagry. They will play each team once on both days of the challenge.

SCHEDULE

Friday, Jan. 2

2 PM – vs Calgary

4:30 PM – vs Alberta

Sunday, Jan. 4

12:30 PM – vs Alberta

3 PM – vs Calgary

Live stats for all four matches will be available HERE. Fans interested in attending matches can purchase tickets through Long Beach State HERE.

UP NEXT
The Tritons open the 2026 season at home next Tuesday, Jan. 6. Jessup will visit LionTree Arena for a match that begins at 7 PM.

About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program has begun a new era as a member of The Big West in NCAA Division I. The 24-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 83 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 39 have garnered prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world’s preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 90 percent, the highest rate among public institutions in NCAA Division I or II. For more information on the Tritons, visit UCSDtritons.com or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.