Personal Statement
I am a dedicated and passionate British water polo player looking to develop and continue my water polo career into college. I am a utility player favouring driver or wing, however I am effective at all positions. I currently train over 6 days a week with an average of 14 hours per week including pool and gym time. I am also in the Great Britain National U20 training squad and working towards international selection.
Last Summer (2023), Los Angeles Water Polo Club gave me an amazing opportunity to play in Junior Olympics as a visiting international player. This year (2024) I am competing at JOs with Team Santa Monica 18U. I achieved a GPA of 3.93 in my end of year exams (GCSEs) and was honoured to be awarded Academic All American 2022-2023 by USA Water Polo as a result. I am planning to study Aeronautical or Aerospace Engineering at College.
Although I am still a junior, I compete with the Senior Men’s 1st and 2nd team of West London Penguins in the British Water Polo League and the London Water Polo League. I love being part of the team and being able to contribute to our success whilst learning from really experienced players from Italy, Greece, Serbia and the UK.
Last year I competed with West London Penguins in the U17 National Age Group Championships. This season I competed in the UK’s new U18 Conference League achieving Silver and also competed in the U19 National Age Group Championships in the Spring.
Last year I was a starter for the U18 All London Sharks Team competing in the U18 Inter-Regional competition where we placed first.
I started playing water polo at my school when I was 11 years old and immediately fell in love with it. My love for the game led to my school water polo coach recommending me to an out-of-school club. Despite Covid-19 Lockdown I was determined to continue improving my water polo with dry-land training drills throughout the pandemic. As soon as lockdown was lifted, I was back in the water and went on to win the U15 London Water Polo League with Lewisham Water Polo Academy.
I am a Varsity player with my school water polo team in both the London Schools Water Polo League and the English Schools Water Polo League, starting for the U18 team. In 2021 we won first place in the U16 English Schools Water Polo League. I have been awarded Water Polo Player of the Year by my school three years in a row (2022, 2023, 2024).
I am never a complacent player and I am constantly looking for ways to improve my water polo ability. I pride myself on my work ethic of training as hard and as much as possible. I am an attentive and respectful player to coaches, referees, and teammates alike and am able to stay calm and focused especially in critical moments of a game.
I take this mentality into my academic life where I achieved a GPA of 3.93 and constantly ask my teachers for extra work and ways to improve in all subjects. This has led me to be awarded an academic scholarship as well as a water polo scholarship for my junior and senior years of high school.
I have trained to become a qualified referee which gives me a fuller understanding of the game and appreciation of what officials look for when refereeing games. I am proud to be a volunteer coach at Lewisham Water Polo Academy, helping the younger ones fall in love with the game the way I did.
I am very grateful for all the opportunities and experiences that I have had because of water polo. I love being part of a team. I am confident that my desire to learn, my academic ability coupled with my water polo ability and positive outlook can make me a valuable part of a collegiate water polo program.
