William Schoinas '25 Recruiting Profile

My whole life I’ve grown up playing sports. Starting with soccer in elementary school, then lacrosse in middle school, I have always played team sports. In my freshman year, I joined my High School's water polo team. From the moment I stepped in the pool, I knew water polo was my calling.

Beginning with no previous swim or polo experience, I became JV team captain and quickly excelled to be one of the best players on the team. Following the end of my freshman high school season, I quickly joined my club team, Tualatin Hills Water Polo Club.  I originally joined the Rec team but after a month of practicing, my coach saw my commitment to the sport and offered to switch me to the Elite team. I remember this was one of my happiest moments and I quickly jumped on the opportunity. I never looked back.

The underwhelming results of my school’s varsity team during my freshman season, where my highschool varsity team had achieved a 3-11 record placing last in the metro league, strengthened the resolve of me and my teammates to develop our skills during the club season to make our team competitive. 

Consequently, in my sophomore year I helped lead the high school team to a metro league championship, 7th in state and its first winning record in 5 years. I received a team award for my contribution and earned the 1st team all metro award. During my sophomore year’s club season, I was given the opportunity to play with my 18u team at JO's.  This experience exposed me to a high level of competitive water polo, and inspired me to do everything in my power to be successful against that same level of competition.

This current junior year was a turning point in my abilities as a water polo player, where I observed the fruits of my labor. After having played together for multiple years working not only on our individual skills, but also on our team fluidity, my High School team achieved a 24-4 record, and placed 3rd in state. Much of the credit for my team’s success is due to the close bonds we built together.  This experience has taught me the importance of connecting both in and outside of the pool. I have learned that in order for a team to reach its true potential, players need to be able to work together, and be able and willing to count on each other. 

A skill I pride myself on is being able to recognize my role on the team in any given game. For example, sometimes I take a primary role in offense, and step up into the pocket to catch and shoot the ball off of a zone defense.  Other times I may have to take a secondary role on the offense, and make defense my number one priority to shut down a dangerous player. I am proud of myself and my team and I will continue to give 100% effort in order to have an even more successful season in my club and the following High School season.

Given that I have only played water polo for a few years, and the dramatic improvement I have already seen in my skills, I believe that my potential is still untapped. I have only scratched the surface of my ability to quickly pick up skills, be a role player and make an impact in both offense, but most importantly, defense.

I am a two time academic all-american recipient, I have achieved a 3.917 unweighted and 4.163 weighted GPA while taking numerous IB courses. Along with committing myself to water polo, I make academics and school one of my priorities. I am particularly interested in the health of athletes and biomechanics of the human body. While becoming a competitive athlete, I have learned the importance of combining nutrition and conditioning for my body to perform as successfully as possible. I look forward to incorporating my passions into my studies, and I am specifically interested in gaining a competitive edge in sports through studying nutrition, bioengineering and health sciences.

I am looking forward to going to college, in order to both achieve a rigorous college education, and at the same time, be part of a very competitive and most importantly committed team in the game I love.