Nikita Valajev '21 Recruiting Profile

     My name is Nikita Valajev. Before playing goalie in water polo, I played the same position in soccer. I was drawn to the position from the beginning because of the responsibility that it took. Being a goalie has taught me how to take control of the defense and communicate the best strategy to stop the other team from scoring. Being a goalie is much like being the quarterback in football. I can see the plays unfold in front of me, and I have the ability to communicate that to the whole team in order to stop the ball from going into the back of the net. When I switched sports from soccer to water polo in seventh grade, I found comfort in being the last line of defense. Since then, I have become a student of the game, learning the best way to attack and defend certain situations. 

     After beginning water polo, I pushed myself 110% to get the results I wanted. Having this motivation and passion for being the best and winning has taken me to Hungary, Croatia, and Spain where I got to experience some of the best water polo players play. The main similarity between all the players there is that they play to win and will go the extra mile to achieve that. I have taken my experience from Europe and engineered my aggressive playstyle to be adaptable to any situation and have excellent communication skills to be able to prevent a shot on goal before it happens. 

     My club coach’s favorite quote has always been “Iron sharpens Iron” and his philosophy is that in order to be the best player, you need to first be the hardest working one. Following his philosophy, my high school team made it to the regional finals in 2019. Although we lost, I vowed that I would bounce back the next year. Additionally, I was nominated as the defensive MVP in both the 2017 and 2018 high school seasons and participated in the 2020 ODP championships for the SPA-Blue team where we got fifth place. My club team also placed fourth in the Northern California Junior Olympic Qualifier tournament. In order to achieve this, I have committed to pushing myself each and every practice and taking criticism from those around me and building on it to improve my game. My goal is to compete at a collegiate level and win a national championship. 

     Outside of the pool, I want to take advantage of every opportunity to make myself a better candidate not only for water polo programs but for universities as well. I have been working hard in the classroom taking the higher-level courses that are offered at my school. 

     Between being a student and an athlete, I have learned a lot about what hard work can achieve. I hope to continue my athletic and academic goals at the collegiate level.