Program Information
2026-2027

Athletes born 2013 or earlier
Fee: Free

This is an opportunity for all aspiring young male athletes who are a part of the local community clubs in the Calgary and surrounding region to learn what it means to be and train like a Torpedoes athlete. Athletes within Mini-Torps will be introduced to current Torpedoes athletes, coaches, and alumni while also participating in a series of monthly training sessions. This program runs January through April, 1x per month. Registration for this program will open in December.

Athletes born 2013 - 2014, Exceptional 2015
Fee: $630

Head Coach: TBA
Assistant Coaches: TBA

This program is designed for athletes that play for a community club but are also ready to start making the transition to competitive water polo. Athletes will train with the Torpedoes 2x per week, while also training and competing with their local community clubs 2-3x per week. This program runs mid-September through April.

Normal Training Schedule:

• 2x per week water session
  • Monday 6:30-8:00pm & Saturday 12:30-2:00pm

Athletes will continue to compete with their community clubs in the AWPA Provincial League. This is a great way for athletes to increase their skill level and get an idea of what the Torpedoes is all about.

Athletes born 2013-2014, Exceptional 2015
Fee: $1260 4x per week

Head Coach: TBA
Assistant Coaches: TBA

This program is designed for athletes that play for a community club but are also ready to start making the transition to competitive water polo. Athletes will train with the Torpedoes 4x per week, but can also continue to train and compete with their local community clubs 1x per week. This program runs mid-September through April.

Normal Training Schedule:

• 4x per week water sessions
  • Monday 6:30-8:00pm, Tuesday 8:00-10:00pm, Thursday 6:30-8:00pm, Saturday 12:30-2:00pm
• 1x per week dryland/weightlifting sessions - (TBC)
  • Saturday 11:45-12:30pm

Athletes can continue to compete with their community clubs in the AWPA Provincial League while also adding in 14U Selects travel events with the Torpedoes. This is a great way for athletes to increase their skill level and game play, while being introduced to what the Torpedoes is all about prior to joining us full time, and ensuring athletes are ready for 16U.

¹Subject to change, Bolded are competitive events & attendance is expected.

Athletes born 2011 - 2012
Fee: $2100

Head Coach: TBA
Assistant Coaches: TBA

This is a full-time program. Athletes will be required to travel and participate in tournaments and competitions throughout the year including 16U Invitationals & the NCL league. Select 16Us may be invited to train and/or compete-up with the 18Us, additionally 2012s and older may be evaluated and invited to the WPC Legacy Training Centre (RDC). This program runs mid-September through May, or until the end of their final Championship event.

Normal Training Schedule:

16U Black & Gold

• 5x per week water sessions
  • Monday 6:30-8:00pm, Tuesday 8:00-10:00pm, Thursday 6:30-8:00pm, Friday 6:30-8:00pm, Saturday 12:30 - 2:00pm
• 2x per week dryland/weightlifting sessions (TBC)
  • Tuesday 7:00-8:00 pm & Friday 5:45 - 6:00pm or Saturday 11:45-12:30 pm

¹Subject to change, Bolded are competitive events & attendance is expected.

Athletes born 2009-2010
Fee: $2100

Head Coach: TBA
Assistant Coaches: TBA

This is a full-time program. Athletes will be required to travel and participate in tournaments and competitions throughout the year including 18U Invitationals & the NCL league. Select 18Us may also be invited to train and/or compete up with the Seniors, additionally 2011s and older may be evaluated and invited to the WPC Legacy Training Centre (RDC). This program runs mid-September through May, or until the end of their final Championship event.

Normal Training Schedule:

18U Black & Gold

• 5x per week water sessions
  • Monday 8:00-10:00pm, Tuesday 8:00-10:00pm, Wednesday 8:00-10:00pm, Thursday 6:30-8:00pm, Sunday 8:00-9:30pm
• 2x per week dryland/weightlifting sessions (TBC)
  • Tuesday 7:00-8:00pm & Sunday 7:00-8:00pm

¹Subject to change, Bolded are competitive events & attendance is expected.

Athletes born 2008 or earlier
Fee: $650 3x per week, $550 2x per week, $450 1x per week

Head Coach: TBA
Assistant Coaches: TBA

Normal Training Schedule:

• 3x per week water sessions
  • Monday 8:00-10:00pm, Wednesday 8:00-10:00pm, Sunday 8:00-9:30pm
• National Team athletes who are decentralized are invited to all Senior Torpedoes Training
• This program runs mid-September through May, or until the end of their final championship event.

¹Subject to change.

To provide athletes with the best possible high performance and development environment, athletes with similar skill-level and ability should be training and competing with other athletes on a regular basis with comparable proficiency, that align with the Long-Term Athlete Development (LTAD) model. As a high-performance club, the Torpedoes follow the Excellence stream/Podium Pathway of LTAD beginning in the Late Competitive Foundations/Train to Train stage, up to the Learn to Win/Living to Win stage.

https://www.waterpolo.ca/content/LTAD-Overview

The ultimate goal of this player assessment process is to provide players with a positive experience in an environment that they can grow as athletes and people, and remain in the game. This process helps to identify the level of play that is most suited to players at this moment in time based on ability, desired level of commitment and social needs.

To best group athletes by ability, they must be evaluated. The Torpedoes coaching team will evaluate athletes and select teams and training groups based on a combination of Fall Assessments and Season Evaluations. The Torpedoes approach to player selection is designed to promote excellence and to inspire and develop all athletes in a way that is consistent with the Torpedoes objectives. The process is designed to be as thorough, accurate and fair as possible.

As described in more detail below, it is important to emphasize that the Fall Assessment is the first and primary determinant of an athlete’s team placement. This puts all athletes on an equal footing at the beginning of each season and gives athletes a “clean slate” opportunity to demonstrate their abilities through an unbiased and comprehensive assessment involving all prospective athletes in the age group.

• Assessments will be held each year in the fall, typically the end of August, for each age group.
• Athletes' age groups are based on their year of birth (YOB), and they will be evaluated for their YOB age group first before being considered in the age group above.
• Athletes are evaluated by various Torpedoes coaches primarily on skills and fundamentals such as swimming, legs, body position, ball handling, passing and shooting. Athletes may also be evaluated in a scrimmage style format.
• Efforts are made to ensure that athletes play with and against different athletes over the course of the assessment period.
• Best efforts will be made to maintain an athlete-to-coach ratio of no more than 15:1.
• Parents of athletes are not involved in the assessment process.
• Athletes are evaluated through the SkillShark app and will be provided with an evaluation of their skill. The rating scale is below:
  • 4-5 - Skill is superior for the age group.
  • 3-4 - Strong: Has an above average skill level required to join the Torpedoes.
  • 2-3 - Sufficient: Has the basic skill level required to join the Torpedoes.
  • 1-2 - Developing: Further skill development is required prior to joining the Torpedoes.
• Based on the assessments, evaluators will recommend a tentative Competition Level / Team for each athlete.
  • 16U/18U Selects Team (Full Time) - Athletes will initially be invited to play on their age group Selects (Black) team, with the possibility of being invited to play-up upon further evaluation.
  • 16U/18U Development Team (Full Time) - Athletes will initially be invited to play on their age group Development (Gold) team. **If an age group has the numbers to carry two teams then both a Selects and Development Team will be selected
  • 14U Selects Team (Hybrid) - Athletes will be advised to register with the Bridge Selects program and with their community club to serve as an introduction to high performance training prior to joining the Torpedoes Full Time.
  • Bridge Development Team (Hybrid) - Athletes will be advised to register with the Bridge Development program and with their community club to serve as an introduction to high performance training prior to joining the Torpedoes Full Time.
  • Community Team - Athletes will be advised to register and continue to play with a Community club to further develop their skills prior to joining the Torpedoes.

• Fall Assessments are the first and most important determinant of an athlete’s team placement and training group.
• Athletes wanting to maximize their chances of making the team of their choice should participate in the full assessment process.
• Athletes who miss the assessment period will not be considered for a team until evaluated (other than in the case of serious illness, injury, or other extenuating circumstances) but can reach out to the Torpedoes Athletic Director to arrange an assessment.

• Over the course of the season, athletes will continue to be evaluated in both a training and competition environment, along with additional factors such as adhering to the attendance policy, attitude, and work ethic.
• The Torpedoes coaching team will collate ongoing season evaluations and fall assessments for each athlete and age group to assist in determining final team placement and competition level.
• If the coaching team identifies athletes that should be moved between competition levels (Selects to Development or Development to Selects), they have the discretion to do so when selecting training groups and final tournament rosters. These decisions are carefully reviewed and will be communicated if changes are made.
• Depending on the league or tournament, there may be final roster due dates, in which case the final roster will be set prior to this date.
• In most cases, the final athlete competition level and team selection is finalized prior to the start of January competition season.
• Alternates may be selected for cases when an athlete is unable to play due to injury or illness.
• Athletes may be invited to train and/or play-up an age group depending on the needs of the team and at the discretion of the coaching team. An athlete's primary commitment should be to their age group (based on YOB) first.

• The Torpedoes assessment and evaluation process is like those used by a wide variety of other associations, premier clubs and athletic organizations.
• Though not perfect, this process generates very accurate placement of athletes.
• Over the course of the assessment period, it is very rare that an athlete fails to play at their “true” ability level.
• Despite the extensive nature of the evaluation process, it remains difficult to make reliable distinctions between athletes with very similar abilities.
• Approximately 100 “man-hours” are spent by the Torpedoes coaching team solely on the assessment, evaluation, and selection process.

Despite all reasonable efforts to make fair and effective decisions there will inevitably be differences between some parents’ perception of their athlete’s ability and the perceptions of the coaches and evaluators. The Torpedoes fully understand that differences in perception can create disappointment and frustration on the part of the athletes and parents affected. However, the Torpedoes is committed to providing quality water polo opportunities to all our athletes, at every age, team and competition level, therefore disappointing decisions need not derail a committed, enthusiastic athlete’s development. To stay on track, however, it is critical that athletes and parents do their best to stay positive and take advantage of the opportunities to improve over the season, so the athlete is well positioned to “succeed” at the following year’s assessment.

Should a parent or athlete wish to discuss their team selection, they may request a meeting by contacting the Torpedoes Athletic Director and Club President. Please note that a Board member will be present at the meeting to ensure a positive environment is maintained but will have no ability to influence the athlete’s team selection, as team selections are at the discretion of our coaching staff.