I think I stand out from a lot of other girls because through the last couple years of playing water polo, I have experienced great ups and downs, which has developed my mental strength and a supportive team attitude. I'm in it for both myself and my team. Above all, I support my team even if my dreams and hard work are seemingly going unacknowledged. My experiences during my last year of playing have allowed me to rise above the moment to realize that sometimes the hard work is for another purpose other than the current moment.
Last year, I started my season playing with a recreational team coached by an Olympian who played in the London Olympics. We trained hard for a rec team and I played all the time, I was a star. I moved to a high performance team half way through the year and suddenly, I was the new kid, unproven and a bench warmer, yet I cheered everyone on, I trained hard and always smiled even though it was so hard. Then, I ended the year playing with a Seattle team to participate in the USA Water Polo Junior Olympics. I was put on the starting line and played there for the entire summer. I felt like WOW - all the training I did was for this. I had such a great experience competing and also participating in their training camp led by Team USA's Greg Enloe. I absorbed it all - the good and the bad and loved water polo even more at the end of it all.
This year, my goal is to be starting line for our Canadian NCL season which is about to start. I continue to work hard and make friendships with my team mates with hopes for life long friends and passion for sport.