1
0
Six teams took part in the U11 final 6 tournament held in the indoor pool Riedtli in Zurich. All teams had to qualify first or second in their regional groups and participated in an intermediate qualification round to qualify directly for the semifinals.
A lot of expectation was on the two direct semifinalists Lausanne Aquatique and the joint team of Aegeri and Aquastart.
“We had a challenging game in the semifinal against the host team from Zürich. Our players did not immediately realize this would be a very tough game. Only in the third quarter we finally were able to equalize and win in the last quarter with the final score of 4 to 3. Credits to Zürich and their program, they are doing excellent work also with the U13 category.” so Norbert Kerschbaum, the who coaches the champion team together with Laszlo Balzam.
Aegeri/Aquastar is Swiss Champion 2023. Coaches Laszlo Balzam (left) and Norbert Kerschbaum with their players.
The Hungarian coach, who learned water polo in some top teams of the capital like UVSE and KSI, is working with youth players and female teams in Switzerland since 2019.
“In the final against Lausanne, we started again not 100% focused. After talking to the kids we were able to get back in control of the game. It was a very different game than in the intermediate round where we lost 9 to 5. We did another joint training session in preparation for this tournament. The atmosphere was the one of a big competition. I need to compliment my goalkeeper and the rest of the team.”
The joint team of Aegeri and Aquastar is formed by players of both teams. “It’s a positive experience for us. We just have five U11 players. Otherwise, we would not be able to participate in the championship”.
