The 6-8 Story
Water polo is one of the oldest team sports in the Olympic Games, but for too long, the sport has lacked the tools to match its athletes' ambition. Training quality depends on your zip code. Recruitment runs on word-of-mouth. And thousands of talented players never get seen. 6-8 Sports exists to change that.
Founded in 2017, 6-8 originates from the cap numbers of our founders. Maggie Steffens earned #6 as a four-time Olympian, three-time Gold Medalist, and former Team USA Captain, widely regarded as the greatest female water polo player ever. Tony Azevedo earned #8 across five Olympic Games, a Silver Medal, four NCAA MVP awards, and a professional career that spanned four continents. They are the most decorated American water polo players in history.
They came together to build the platform they wished had existed when they were coming up, one that could give every athlete, regardless of geography or connections, a real path forward.
But for Maggie and Tony, earning their numbers was never just about personal achievement. They saw firsthand how the sport that gave them everything was failing the next generation. Elite coaching was concentrated in a handful of cities. There was no standardized way to measure an athlete's development. And college recruitment depended on who you knew, not how good you were.
That vision became 6-8 Sports: a development platform that democratizes access to Olympic-level coaching, standardized skill measurement, and data-driven recruitment.
Since launching, 6-8 has assessed more than 13,000 athletes globally, placed 50+ Academy athletes at top Division I programs, and become USA Water Polo's official statistics provider and standardized testing partner. From club tournaments to National Team competitions, 6-8 technology is now woven into the fabric of the sport.
But this has never just been about data. It's about the players in less water polo dense areas who deserve the same development tools as those with better access. It's about giving every athlete a fair shot to be seen, to improve, and to earn their number.
The game has changed. We're here to make sure every athlete can keep up.