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2005 SEASON
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Player Spotlight
JOE FRANTZ
Illpolo.com's Top Sophomore Goalie
Joe Frantz burst on the scene in 2005 as the starting goalie for
Brother Rice in just his sophomore year. His early season performances
helped the Crusaders remain undefeated until the Stevenson Tournament in
Week 7. His undefeated early season record included four straight wins
over eventual state-champion Fenwick. He was named to the All-Illpolo
second team at the end of the year and was chosen as our Top Sophomore
Goalie in 2005. We asked Joe the following questions in an exclusive
Illpolo.com interview:
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College choices, major, current GPA? Experience, Zone Teams, Off-season work? My experience as a goalie has been about five years now. I started playing goalie in the sixth grade. For club teams, I play with the Chicago Aquatics Polo Club (CAPC) over the summer at Brother Rice. We play at the Prairie State Games and at a tournament in Philadelphia. I've played for Ridge Park in the eighth grade for Speedo Cup. I'm on the Midwest Zone Futures Team, who I |
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played with in an international tournament in
South Florida back in February. I will play in the National Age Group
Championships (NAG's) this July in Florida. In the off-season, I play with
some older players and some friends at Curie Park and Whitney Young, and
occasionally at Ridge Park in the evening. I try to play anywhere I can
and as much as I can in the off-season.
When did you start? How? Where?
I was on a swim team ever since kindergarten. I began at Curie Park. I
started playing water polo in second grade when I was hanging on the
shoulders of my former coach and lifegaurd Eric Fischer during the
scrimmages. In Chicago Park District play, the water polo
championships are only once a year, and we'd only practice a month and a
half or so. Eventually, as I got older, I was able to stay later
after swim practice, to wait for family swimto be over with to play polo
twice a week. Then one day I went to an open house at Brother Rice since I
knew all the older more talented players went to school there. I met Jim
"Moose" Mulcrone and talked with him. When the summer came around, I got a
call from him asking if I wanted to play with his team over the summer. I
got a lot of experience from playing with the older players and under
Moose. We went to St. Louis that summer and we played in the Prairie State
Games, where I played with a lot of older players. He still kept me in
even when I was practically letting every shot in.
Awards and achievements?
I don't have much for awards, but I was named MVP for our F/S team last
year as a freshman. I've been chosen as the starting goalie for the
Midwest Zone Team. I've also been invited to the National Goalie camp at
the Olympic Training center in Colorado Springs, where the national goalie
coaches will be watching.
Personal interests? Music? TV shows?
I like to rollerblade, play bean bags, play pool, and hang with my
friends. I like a wide variety of music, from Hip-Hop to Classic Rock, to
Alternative, to Rap. I like watching, "Who's Line is it Anyway?", Family
Guy, Unwrapped, and "I love the (60's, 70's...)'s.
Goals for the future with polo? School? Life?
My goals for the future with polo are to win a state title. Besides that,
my goal is basically to just get better. I think if I just keep getting
better, opportunities will open themselves up for me. My goals with
school are always to get good grades, raise my GPA, be involved, and to
just have fun; you only go through high school once. One of my goals in
life is to travel more. I always like seeing new places and get to know
how the lifestyle is there, compared to back in Chicago.
Motivation, inspiration?
I get my motivation from other people criticizing me. Before this season
started, I've heard "the goalie for Rice is so bad, he can't block
anything". People have said I was too short, too scrawny, not experienced
enough, and that I would cower under pressure. I've just used that and
made my goal to show up everybody that thought I wasn't good enough. I
almost love it when players or coaches under-estimate me, that way I can
give them more of a surprise when I start making big blocks. Since last
year, I've grown about 4 inches, and have lifted weights. I just knew a
lot of pressure would be on me this season, so I used that to drive me,
and it's worked out. Instead of it being a matter of the goalie beating
the shooter, I like to make it a matter of the shooter beating the goalie.
I remember in the summer before my eighth
grade year, I was playing in a tournament under Moose. One game, I could
not make blocks for anything. It was the 18 & Under age bracket and I was
only twelve years old. Despite how I was doing, Moose told me to stay in.
Though the whole game I could hear the players saying how bad I was doing,
on one play we were a man down, and the balled got passed and shot from
right in front of the goal, and I made a huge block that just about
everyone saw. Even today, I play with some of those players from the other
team, except now they have a little more competition.
First Season role?
My role my first season was basically to be the best goalie I could be for
Frosh/Soph. Dan Fadden was a senior so he covered Varsity. I made a big
impression on F/S. My coaches took me along to the Varsity Tournaments,
and put me in goal when we were up by a lot. I remember a game at Fenwick
when we playing someone and we were only up by two. My coach called Dan
out of the water and told me to get in. The seniors told me it was my
chance to show everybody that I had the ability. I made 3 or 4 good
blocks, one on a man-down. We ended up wining by five or six. At F/S
conference, I really had a good game in the title game against Fenwick,
though we lost by one goal. I had something like 10+ blocks, and it made
me feel good about what I could do this year.
Soph, Junior Year role?
My role this season has been to improve as much as possible in goal. We
have five starting seniors and this is their last year, so I know that
they are depending on me to be that last line of defense. When I'm making
the blocks, that really inspires them to play well and score goals. I
don't want to let them down because I know this is their last chance, and
I'm only a sophomore. I believe next year I'm going to have to be more of
a leader for the team, since we'll be losing five of our players.
Statistics for the current season?
In 23 out of 26 games, I held the opposing team to
7 goals or less and in 12 out of 26 games, I've held the opposing team to
4 goals or less.
Other comments/Things to Know?
I live on the southwest side of the city of Chicago, with my father Mic
Frantz, and my mother Peggy Frantz, while my one older sister,Amy, attends
college at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and my other
older sister, Michelle, on the north side of the city. Amy played water
polo all throughout high school at Maria. They went to state and placed
3rd her freshman year and 5th her sophomore year. My other older sister,
Michelle, lives on north side with her husband, Pete, who is the coolest
brother-in-law I could have.
