Isabella Sells '23 Recruiting Profile

   Water Polo has been my life last 10 years. It has shaped me for who I am today with character, pride, and integrity as I hold the line of scrimmage as a center and fearlessly fight for the winning goal. Being born in a family with a long lineage of obesity, I was teased for my big size from a young age. The rejection among age peers made me insecure till, one day, I found out that I am so much faster in water than any of my friends. Ever since then, swimming became my passion and this wonderful sports called water polo just rolled onto my lap in 2013 when I was 9. Through playing water polo, I gained confidence and lost obesity. Water polo has been a great way to have fun and get healthier for me at Stanford Girls Water Polo Club for the next six yearswhere I learned to value sportsmanship, teamwork, competitiveness, and integrity from former Olympian coaches. I was trained at three ODP camps and four Junior Olympics during these years.

     Then, Covid came to shut down all the practices and the pool. While I was continuing the training via Zoom with Stanford Girls' Waterpolo coaches, a life-changing event happened to my family. I lost my dad during the Covid and had to be relocated to Florida. While I missed my old teammates and the coaches terribly but did not give up on my water polo training. I joined the Jacksonville Water Polo-War Eagle Coed team and continued my training. I was given opportunity to play joined Girls' JO tourney with an Orlando team since my current team does not have seven girls at my age group, but I got accepted at Summer Institue for Gifted (SIG) program at Yale University and decided to focus on acedemics during my junior year summer. 

     However, I wish to continue my passion for sports and teamwork during college years. I have developed into a leader through my presidency and as an officer at NJHS and  NHS and would like to continue my growth in one of the most prestigious educational institutions in the country. Through five pillars of Honor Society such as citizenship, character, service, leadership, and scholarship, I have learned that nothing is impossible with effectual leadership and powerful teamwork. The leadership skills that I have developed extend to the pool as I lead the team to the winning with effective communication and selfless teamwork as a center. I believe in positive changes in the world and that prestigious colleges like yours would give me an opportunity to strengthen my voice as I continue to make life-time friends in women’s water polo team.

       I wish to balance academics and sports through my college years. Both athletic and academic scholarships are welcomed!