Marcelo Leonardi Q&A: Collegiate Cup Preview
11/6/2014 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
The Wolverines will compete in the inaugural Collegiate Cup this Saturday and Sunday (Nov. 8-9) at the Woolett Aquatics Center in Irvine, Calif. Hosted by USA Water Polo, the tournament will feature 10 of the top collegiate women's water polo teams as well as two squads comprised of women's senior national team members. All games will be exhibition contests and serve as a preview for the upcoming 2015 season.
Competing in Pool D, Michigan will kick off play Saturday against USC (9:45 a.m. PST) and California (3:45 p.m. PST), which claimed third and fourth place, respectively, at last season's NCAA Championship. The Wolverines will close out the tournament with two more games on Sunday.
Before hitting the road with his U-M team for the first time since taking over the helm of the program, Dr. Marcelo Leonardi took some time to talk about the Wolverines' readiness to face competition, what he's looking for this weekend and his excitement to represent the block M.
Q: After about two months of practicing with and playing against each other, are you and the team excited to finally get out and play against another team?
A: I'm really excited. We finally get a chance to put everybody on the same side and be able to see everything that we've done building to this point, whether it's tactical or simulation -- we get to compete against somebody else. It's gotten to the point now where only a game will be able to truly show where we're at.
Q: Is this the perfect place to informally start your season -- although your season is still months away? Is this a good benchmark?
A: Absolutely. I think we're about 85-90 percent of what we're going to be -- personnel, teaching. The season is still a long time away. But it's great in terms of being able to use this as a benchmark to see where we're at. It's also an opportunity to face teams that might be a little more polished than us at this point. That's a great benchmark. We're able to get film on it, bring it back and assess.
Q: What are looking for out of your team? What do you most what to see, and what will you be evaluating?
A: Three things: 1) I want to see how they travel. That's a big thing. All the teams that I've coached in previous years, it's always local. A flight is once a year. So, this weekend, I want to see how they travel and how that translates to coming back to school or preparation in general. 2) I'm excited to see the gamers and who are ballers really are. Who's going to shine at the brightest moments. 3) I'm excited to see the look on their faces and just the look when they see the system in full effect and how it's working. Right now, they see it and believe in the system. But it's more believable when it translates to small victories or success in the water in different aspects of the game.
Q: At this point in your preseason training, not to suggest that practices are becoming stagnate, is this the best boost -- experience game scenarios and then come back and see a surge in your practices?
A: Sometimes they say practices are better than games. We're still building, systematically and personnel-wise. We're still trying to figure some things out. What this will do is show: 1) is the system working, 2) can they pick up the system quickly, and 3) what pieces do we need down the road to take the program to the next level? It's not that the practices are stagnate, because we're constantly getting better and I don't think we've even gotten close to reaching our ceiling yet. But there are certain things that I'd like to simulate where everybody is on the same page on one team, rather than splitting them into two teams and going at each other.
Q: On a personal level, are you excited to travel with your team?
A: Absolutely. I feel like this is my team. It's taken a little bit of time. I'm excited to walk in and walk on the pool deck with the Michigan block M and to see how people react. I'm excited to see how the team walks on the pool deck with this new aura of Michigan water polo. The product in the water will match the way we walk in. I'm excited to see my friends, my family and the water polo community. There will be a lot of prospects there and people that are excited about coming to watch Michigan water polo.
Communications Contact: Leah Howard (734)763-4423
