Hayden Hedstrom '24 Recruiting Profile

My name is Hayden Hedstrom and  I am currently a student-athlete at Williston Northampton School, in Easthampton Massachusetts. I began playing water polo as an 11 year old when my family moved from the east coast to Southern California.  I joined Rose Bowl Water Polo where I learned the game and developed my passion for the sport. During my 3 years of playing for Rose Bowl, my team qualified for the Junior Olympics placing  23rd, 8th, a nd 15th place.  In my last year of playing for Rose Bowl (2019), I was also named to the All-Tournament Team for Champions Cup.  Following the 2019 Junior Olympics, my family moved to Massachusetts, which meant chasing opportunities to play water polo.  Before COVID, I attended the Harvard University camp, joined Mass Youth Water Polo Club and began the Olympic Development Program (ODP), where I was named an alternate in my 1st year.  As a committed and passionate water polo player, COVID made it difficult to train and compete, but it also forced me to be creative.  Working with my head coach at Mass Youth Water Polo Club, Lauren Presant (played at Brown), we began training twice a week in my neighbor's pool and eventually found an athletic club pool that allowed us to continue training indoors.  For more than 6 months, Lauren guided me in mastering technique, maintaining my conditioning  and growing as a confident water polo player and leader.  She is one of the main reasons why I want to continue my water polo career in college.   However, the one aspect my private training couldn't replicate was game play and I made the decision to apply to prep schools around New England so that I could play in high school. I was accepted to Williston-Northampton for my sophomore and helped lead my team to the school's first ever NEPSAC championship.   Following my sophomore year at Williston, I spent the summer in southern California attend the 6-8 Academy.

As a aspiring collegiate water polo player, I believe I bring a unique set of attributes that would allow me to excel as a student athlete.  First, my growth as a strong utility player allows me to contribute  in the water from multiple positions.  I also have the ability to see plays developing, which allows to make an assist to an open teammate, drive to open water or draw an ejection.  Secondly, my coachability allows me to continue to grow as an athlete.   I understand my strengths and weaknesses, I am always open to constructive criticisms and use the feedback to improve my skills.   Finally, I believe my proven ability to adapt, and most importantly, to thrive in new environments and new teams/teammates will make me a strong student athlete and asset to a collegiate water polo team.  I look forward to continuing to pursue my passion for water polo at the collegiate level in 2024.