Redwood Empire Water Polo
Santa Rosa, CA Sonoma County
His life in Ashland
By KRIS HENRY
ASHLAND -- When life hands the Ashland High School water polo teams lemons, they make lemonade.
Left in the lurch three weeks ago when last year's coach opted to enter the graduate program at Portland State University, the third-year teams took a slightly different approach when looking for a replacement.
Vicki Foley, president of the Ashland High water polo board, let technology be her guide; she placed an ad on the Internet for a water polo coach.
She received two responses -- one from Portugal and the other from Russia.
Foley said she initially dismissed the responses, but the interested party in Portugal proved persistent -- and abundantly qualified.
Through more correspondence on the Internet and a conference call among the four Ashland water polo board members, the water polo teams finally nabbed their man: Ricardo Jose dos Santos Pedroso Pinheiro de Freitas.
After a 25-hour plane trip, Freitas and the Ashland contingent finally met face-to-face Aug. 28 in a nervous gathering for all involved.
"We had no clue as to what we were stepping into," said Carol Scoles, secretary of the Ashland water polo board.
Freitas said he had similar thoughts as he got off the plane, but the gathering of about 20 players and parents eased his mind.
Since then, both sides have been more than pleased with the partnership.
"The parents and players have been so good for me," Freitas said during his seventh practice in Ashland.
Freitas, in turn, has already been good for the up-and-coming water polo teams.
"He's a great coach," said assistant coach Richard Panelli. "He's very in tune with the kids' emotions. I've worked with a lot of coaches, and it's rare to have a coach like Ricardo."
Freitas has already won over the hearts of the Ashland players as well.
"We all like him a lot," said 16-year-old Adam Foley. "We feel his technique is really good."
Jordan Scheffler, 17, said the team grew attached to their former coach, but the atmosphere with Freitas at the helm has been more than entertaining -- especially in communication.
"We're getting used to his different wordings," she said. "Body language helps a lot."
One of the reasons the 27-year-old made the venture from Portugal to Ashland was to improve his English, as well as gain new experiences.
Although Freitas was born in Portsmouth, Va., his experience in the United States was for less than three years. The remainder of his years have been spent in Portugal, where he was a standout water polo player for nine years and a youth coach since 1990.
Freitas coached his age 16-19 team to a junior national championship two years ago, and has several players still playing on that junior national team.
"This is exactly the best time to come to Ashland," Freitas said. "I think it's a new experience for me. I think for the players it's a new experience too."
Freitas lives with the Foleys, that new experience has gone beyond the pool.
"It's going really well," Adam Foley said of his new housemate, adding that Freitas has played a key role in what's for dinner.
"He likes Mexican food, so we've been concentrating on that most nights," the 16-year-old said with a chuckle.
The team's focus has predominantly been to work hard and get in shape for a drive to the state playoffs. The Ashland girls team finished one win shy of the state tournament last season, while the boys struggled through a growing season. With Freitas in charge and more experience on both teams, Ashland stands to be extremely competitive this season.
"With all we've overcome, we're probably a little stronger this year," Foley said. "I think we'd be disappointed if we don't go to state."
At least that will be a shorter trip for Freitas.
Statistics
Player career:
- 1988 at Bombeiros voulutarios dos Estoris(Estoril, Portugal)
- 1988 to 1996 Played on Clube de Natacao de Oeiras(Oeiras, Portugal)
- 1996 played for Lisbon Zone team
- 1996 to 1999 Played for Clube Futebol "Os Belenenses"
Coach Career:
1990 to 1996 Clube de natacao de Oeiras
- 1990 to 1992 Head Coach to infantil team(under 13)
- 1993 to 1996 Head Coach to Juvenile team (under 16)
- 1994 to 1996 Head Coach to Junior team(under 18)
- 1991 to 1992 Assist. Coach to Juvenile and Junior Team
- 1993 to 1996 Assist Coach to Senior team(over 18)
- Team weight coach
- Highlights:
- Portuguese Championship under 18
- Portuguese Championship under 16
- 2 2nd place Portuguese Championship under 16
- 2 2nd place Portuguese Championship under 18
- 2 Lisbon Zone championship under 13
- 2 Lisbon Zone championship under 16
- 2 Lisbon Zone championship under 18
- 4 & 5 place division 1 championship
- Team Players on Portuguese national teams
1996 to 1998 Clube Futebol "Os Belenenses"
- 1996 to 1998 Head coach to Juvenile (under 16) & junior team(under 18)
- 1996 to 1998 Assist. Coach to senior team (over 18) Men & Women
- Highlights:
- Portuguese Championship under 18
- Lisbon zone championship under 18
- 2 and 3 places Lisbon zone Championship under16
- 3 place Portuguese division 1 women
- 6 place Division 1 men
- 3 players on portuguese national team at 1997 European Championship in Seville spain
- Team players on portuguese national teams
1998 to 2001 Ashland High School Water Polo/ Southern Oregon Water Polo club
- Head coach to boys and girls teams
- Coordinator of program
- Highlights:
- 2000 1st place Oregon High School South conference, Boys
- 2000 2nd place Oregon High School South conference, Girls
- 2000 5th & 6th place Oregon High School State Championship, Boys and Girls
- 1998 1st place Oregon High School South Conference, girls
- 1998 to 1999 2nd place Oregon High School South conference, boys
- 1999 3rd place Oregon High school state championship, boys
- 1999 6th place Oregon High school state championship, girls
- 1998 6th & 7th place Oregon High School state championship,boys
and girl
- Team players recieved MVP and All Star on state and south conference
- Team player made USA youth national team
1999 - 2001 Ashland YMCA
Started a Water Polo Age group program and a Masters Program
2001
- Redwood Empire Water Polo Club/ City of Santa Rosa, Recreation & Parks
- Head Coach
- Coordinator of program
- Started a new program with 3 levels of practices.
- Star fish and porpoise for children between 5 to 13
- Competitive - over 14
- Masters - over 17
- Redwood Empire Water Polo club is member of USA Water Polo (Club Number 1667)