About
6-8 Academy is a semester-based, full-time immersive training academy for water polo that includes gym sessions, strength training, conditioning, mobility work, seminars, video breakdown, virtual reality training, custom group activities, and pool training sessions. The program also includes water polo-specific conditioning, tactical training, VR training, personalized repetitive skill development, mental performance training, video analysis, nutrition seminars, rehab services, and college recruiting guidance and exposure support. Both overnight and commuter options are available, with gender- and age-divided groups and limited capacity per semester.
• Schedule: Semester-based program with Winter/Spring, Summer, and Fall semesters; 5-day Monday through Friday schedule, with daily sessions from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM.
On a typical day, 8:00–8:30 AM is set for gym, strength training, conditioning, and mobility, 8:30–9:30 AM is used for seminars, video breakdown, virtual reality or a custom group activity, and 9:30 AM–12:00 PM is a pool training session. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday focus on conditioning, mobility, and strength development, while Tuesday and Thursday focus on mental training, VR sessions, tactical seminars, and video analysis. The program uses VR training, certified sports psychology, performance-focused and practical nutrition education, Olympic-level strategies in tactical training, and injury prevention and performance optimization rehab services. Shared apartments are available with 2–3 athletes per room and a maximum of 5 per apartment, with a full-time chaperone on-site 24/7, lunch and dinner provided 5 days per week by a private chef using nutritionist-created menus, performance-focused meal planning, and dietary accommodations, and commuters can opt into the meal plan.
6-8 Sports, the organization behind 6-8 Academy, was founded in 2017 and works to accelerate growth and exposure in water polo through a development platform that unites standardized metrics and live game analysis. 6-8 Sports has become USA Water Polo’s official statistics provider and standardized testing partner. The leadership team includes Co-Founder and CEO Maggie Steffens and Co-Founder and President Tony Azevedo.
The staff includes main coach and mentor Tony Azevedo, a 5-time Olympian and silver medalist, 4-time NCAA MVP, former Team USA captain, Stanford graduate, and Harvard master’s graduate, and head coach Ricardo Azevedo, who has led the USA Men’s Water Polo Team, USA Junior Team, and CSULB and was head coach of the Chinese Men’s and Women’s National Teams for the 2016 Rio Olympics. Coach and mentor Maggie Steffens is a 3-time Olympic gold medalist, current Team USA captain, was named best female athlete in the world by FINA, and holds both a BS and a master’s in Management Science & Engineering from Stanford. Performance specialist Ryan Spratt has over 15 years of experience helping athletes from youth to pros build strength, mobility, and durability for high-level sport, with an emphasis on efficient movement, rotational power, and physical readiness. VR and data director Dr. Dutch Franz is a high-performance psychologist and consultant for water polo programs at UCLA, Stanford, and LMU and is the founder of REPS-VR, a sports virtual reality training system. Goalie coach Jahmea Bent is a UCLA star goalie and professional athlete. Mental performance coach Bridget Cahill, MS, is a Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC) candidate with an M.S. in Sport and Performance Psychology from California Baptist University. Main coach and mentor Jimmy Heard is the founder of East Side WP, a top girls club in the zone from 2019–2023, with 17 years of coaching experience worldwide, including National Team and ODP. On-campus organizer Cam Greer is a four-time Academic All-American who played water polo at UC Berkeley, and full-time onsite chaperone Minnie Greer has over 30 years of experience in event planning, coordination, community outreach projects, and youth engagement.
Testimonials from past athletes describe the academy as expanding water polo IQ, offering individualized coaching from Tony and Rico, and supporting the mental part of the game, as shared by Nieve, an academy athlete for multiple semesters. Maggie, another multi-semester athlete, states that the 6-8 Academy helped her become a more confident player by growing her water polo IQ and skills. Kate, an original academy athlete who attended for over a year, reports that the academy improved her water polo, helped her develop into a mature all-around athlete, prepared her for college, and taught her skills to protect her body and build mental fortitude, and she notes that Tony, Maggie, Rico, Sara, and all the coaches create a family and a home for their athletes. Landon Mauge, recruited to the University of the Pacific (Class of 2030), states that the academy helped him understand what it takes to be a high-level athlete and how to compete through adversity, and that the lessons were invaluable in his recruitment journey and overall growth as a player. Aliyah, an athlete for multiple semesters, reports that she got into the best shape of her life, became faster in the pool, learned to make smarter decisions more quickly, saw her game IQ transform in one year, and credits work on mental toughness with Tony and Rico for preparing her for her first season as a Division I athlete. USA National Team member Sam Hofley states that personalized, engaged coaching at the academy elevated game IQ, technical play, and physical strength. USA National Team member Jailynn Robinson, recruited to UCLA (Class of 2030), states that the academy played a key role in her water polo journey and in her development as a player and person. Federico, a Winter/Spring semester athlete from Brazil, describes attending the 6-8 Academy in California after high school as the best choice he made, stating that it improved his play, gave him needed exposure, and helped him become a better person, and that after attending he felt more than ready for college. Jojo, who attended the summer and fall semesters in 2021, reports that the experience benefited her as both a water polo player and a person, that she was continually surrounded by mentors and athletes who pushed her and taught lifelong lessons, and that she considers the 6-8 group her family.
Last updated June 23, 2026.
• Schedule: Semester-based program with Winter/Spring, Summer, and Fall semesters; 5-day Monday through Friday schedule, with daily sessions from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM.
On a typical day, 8:00–8:30 AM is set for gym, strength training, conditioning, and mobility, 8:30–9:30 AM is used for seminars, video breakdown, virtual reality or a custom group activity, and 9:30 AM–12:00 PM is a pool training session. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday focus on conditioning, mobility, and strength development, while Tuesday and Thursday focus on mental training, VR sessions, tactical seminars, and video analysis. The program uses VR training, certified sports psychology, performance-focused and practical nutrition education, Olympic-level strategies in tactical training, and injury prevention and performance optimization rehab services. Shared apartments are available with 2–3 athletes per room and a maximum of 5 per apartment, with a full-time chaperone on-site 24/7, lunch and dinner provided 5 days per week by a private chef using nutritionist-created menus, performance-focused meal planning, and dietary accommodations, and commuters can opt into the meal plan.
6-8 Sports, the organization behind 6-8 Academy, was founded in 2017 and works to accelerate growth and exposure in water polo through a development platform that unites standardized metrics and live game analysis. 6-8 Sports has become USA Water Polo’s official statistics provider and standardized testing partner. The leadership team includes Co-Founder and CEO Maggie Steffens and Co-Founder and President Tony Azevedo.
The staff includes main coach and mentor Tony Azevedo, a 5-time Olympian and silver medalist, 4-time NCAA MVP, former Team USA captain, Stanford graduate, and Harvard master’s graduate, and head coach Ricardo Azevedo, who has led the USA Men’s Water Polo Team, USA Junior Team, and CSULB and was head coach of the Chinese Men’s and Women’s National Teams for the 2016 Rio Olympics. Coach and mentor Maggie Steffens is a 3-time Olympic gold medalist, current Team USA captain, was named best female athlete in the world by FINA, and holds both a BS and a master’s in Management Science & Engineering from Stanford. Performance specialist Ryan Spratt has over 15 years of experience helping athletes from youth to pros build strength, mobility, and durability for high-level sport, with an emphasis on efficient movement, rotational power, and physical readiness. VR and data director Dr. Dutch Franz is a high-performance psychologist and consultant for water polo programs at UCLA, Stanford, and LMU and is the founder of REPS-VR, a sports virtual reality training system. Goalie coach Jahmea Bent is a UCLA star goalie and professional athlete. Mental performance coach Bridget Cahill, MS, is a Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC) candidate with an M.S. in Sport and Performance Psychology from California Baptist University. Main coach and mentor Jimmy Heard is the founder of East Side WP, a top girls club in the zone from 2019–2023, with 17 years of coaching experience worldwide, including National Team and ODP. On-campus organizer Cam Greer is a four-time Academic All-American who played water polo at UC Berkeley, and full-time onsite chaperone Minnie Greer has over 30 years of experience in event planning, coordination, community outreach projects, and youth engagement.
Testimonials from past athletes describe the academy as expanding water polo IQ, offering individualized coaching from Tony and Rico, and supporting the mental part of the game, as shared by Nieve, an academy athlete for multiple semesters. Maggie, another multi-semester athlete, states that the 6-8 Academy helped her become a more confident player by growing her water polo IQ and skills. Kate, an original academy athlete who attended for over a year, reports that the academy improved her water polo, helped her develop into a mature all-around athlete, prepared her for college, and taught her skills to protect her body and build mental fortitude, and she notes that Tony, Maggie, Rico, Sara, and all the coaches create a family and a home for their athletes. Landon Mauge, recruited to the University of the Pacific (Class of 2030), states that the academy helped him understand what it takes to be a high-level athlete and how to compete through adversity, and that the lessons were invaluable in his recruitment journey and overall growth as a player. Aliyah, an athlete for multiple semesters, reports that she got into the best shape of her life, became faster in the pool, learned to make smarter decisions more quickly, saw her game IQ transform in one year, and credits work on mental toughness with Tony and Rico for preparing her for her first season as a Division I athlete. USA National Team member Sam Hofley states that personalized, engaged coaching at the academy elevated game IQ, technical play, and physical strength. USA National Team member Jailynn Robinson, recruited to UCLA (Class of 2030), states that the academy played a key role in her water polo journey and in her development as a player and person. Federico, a Winter/Spring semester athlete from Brazil, describes attending the 6-8 Academy in California after high school as the best choice he made, stating that it improved his play, gave him needed exposure, and helped him become a better person, and that after attending he felt more than ready for college. Jojo, who attended the summer and fall semesters in 2021, reports that the experience benefited her as both a water polo player and a person, that she was continually surrounded by mentors and athletes who pushed her and taught lifelong lessons, and that she considers the 6-8 group her family.
Last updated June 23, 2026.
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