Dulcenea Williams '21 Recruiting Profile

I began my athletic  journey when my parents made me play basketball, volleyball and soccer at various ages between 5 and 13. I was introduced to water polo mostly by accident. I followed a few of my grade school friends into competitive swim through Heartland Swim a club in San Diego. After a year or so (age 13) I was thoroughly unmotivated to continue swim with Heartland. Luckily my parents make friends easily and through a connection, I was introduced to splash ball at Valhalla High school with Coach Paige and Coach Breezy. I loved it, I mean I really loved it. I loved the physical nature of the game and the change of pace afforded by the game tactics.  That year was 2016 and of course not unlike many girls my age I watched the US women's water polo team dominate in Rio. Filled with pride and inspiration I begged my parents to sign me up for "real" water polo. I wanted to be like Asheligh Johnson and one day represent the US in water polo. 

Again my parents through their grapevine found a club program where my journey began. 14's was a whirlwind first year. Learning the game, tournaments up and down the state, my dad becoming  tournament DJ (long story), Jr Olympics and a silver medal as part of the inaugural PSW (San Diego) region team in the ODP nationals. I'm not quite sure why I was chosen for the team as a first year ( I was never selected again in successive years). However Being selected at 14 gave me a huge burst of confidence that my olympic dream could be achieved. My parents allowed me to attend any and every camp we could afford and attend for which I'm massively grateful because I learned more about technique from collegiate coaches, players and former olympians.

The  last thing I'll say  about water polo concerns my high school experience. I won't have one. Unfortunately the various San Diego County school districts do not allow homeschool individuals such as myself to play CIF sports unless affiliated with a given school district. I tried everything overcome this barrier.  my best result and experience was with the Coach of a local high school who advocated to his principal directly on my behalf, but rules are rules and I was unable to play for his team and the friends I'd gained through club play. In addition to this I'd pretty much  learned  how competitive US women's  water polo is. I  decided that I'd  set my sights on college competition and the goal of playing international  polo in Europe rather than the Olympics.

My academic and professional career aspirations are  varied but I've  narrowed down my area's of study to Psychology and Visual Arts. My  dad thinks I should look into a PhD in sports Psychology and work for his favorite baseball team the  Paders, but my goals right now mostly surround teaching young children how to swim and the fundamentals of water polo. Through connections with my club teams I've obtained Red Cross certifications in Water Safety Instruction (WSI) an Lifeguard. To date I've only utilized my knowledge to train my younger cousins and family friends to swim. unfortunately in the midst of building a list of clients, COVID-19 happened. 

My Visual Arts goals involves direct sales of my artwork through Etsy, Instagram and other platforms while I begin a possible career in comics or animated film.

I'm looking forward to the college experience. My parents have preached about the positive  life changing experience it was for them for as long as I can remember. While I don't have a favorite school my hope is the university I attend has the balance of personal growth, academics and athletics that I'm looking for.

Take care,

Dulcenea Williams