Emma Strobel '20 Recruiting Profile

My hope for my college water polo career is to find a program that values team dynamic above all. In my experience playing both high school and club water polo, I've seen two types of coaches: those who focus the majority of their effort on singular standout players and those who work the dynamic of the team to build trust and growth for all. My high school team is not large. With at most 4 subs last year and 6 this year, we have to trust each other, be flexible and change strategies to keep opposing teams with fresh players guessing. Using a goalie's perspective to watch and anticipate play based on what I see and know of other players, and then call out to my teammates, is a big part of staying a step ahead of the other team.  I am a vocal player, and I appreciate vocal coaches. My strengths also include height and wingspan (5'11"), and I am good at finding focus, calming nerves and building team camaraderie. My team affectionately calls me "mom" as I am always working to keep everyone on good terms and make sure they know they are valued. I firmly believe that one of the reasons our team won state last year is that we are so tight knit - we are a family, made up of many different personalities and strengths, but we trust one another to always do what's best for the team. It is important to me to always do my personal best, which translates to my academic life, as well. I'm in the top 10% of my class with a 3.93 GPA on a college preparatory track.