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Grant-A-Week WINNER
I once heard it described, "Combine the over-arm throwing accuracy of a major league baseball pitcher, the vertical jumping ability of a pro volleyball player, the endurance of a cross-country skier, the physical contact of hockey, and basketball-like team tactics, just add water and you've got water polo!!!" To date, that is the best description I can give. It combines so many different skills, plays and team tactics that it is hard to describe in a single sentence. Basically what you've got is six players and a goalie in two-meter deep water. The point, try to get as many goals as possible. Sounds simple enough, right? Well, not when you have an opponent pushing, pulling, elbowing, grabbing scratching, kicking, and holding you as you are trying to control the ball. The roughest spot in the water is the position right in front of the net. It is called the center offense position or, in water polo slang, hole. This is where I play. This is a very demanding position because putting the ball into hole sets up most of the plays. I love playing hole because it forces me to think one step ahead all the time. To make most plays in water polo work, they must be executed with a fraction of a second or the advantage will be lost. This means that there must be complete communication between my teammates and I at all times. Hole is also a very rough position. I have come out of many games with black eyes, scratches and bruises from being held and clawed at by a defender. But it is all part if the game and that is why I love it!
I train five times a week to better my skills and prepare for tournaments. I will usually do an hour of weight training and some sort of abdominal workout before I even get in the pool. After that I do an hour-long swim set that my coach gives me. Then, for the next hour, it is purely water polo stuff. Drills, tactics, shooting, and different offensive and defensive plays take up most of the time. And, on some nights, we will play for 10-20 minutes at the end of practice to work on what we were just taught. It is a very hectic schedule to keep up with. It is very physically demanding and always pushes me to the limits. But, it is worth it in the end! "We are what we repeatedly do, excellence is therefore not an act but a habit." p>During the 1998-1999 season my team did exceptionally well. At the Alberta Open, a competition held in Calgary for all of western Canada, we played our best-ever and won the gold medal, which was a first ever for the Juvenile women of the Calgary Renegades. Then, at Juvenile Nationals that spring we surprised everyone when we beat out a top eastern team for the bronze medal. I can honestly say that it was on the proudest moments in my life when I, the team captain, got to stand up on the podium and announce all of my teammates as they received their medals! And to make it even better, Nationals were held in Calgary so all of our families were able to watch us compete in one of the most nail-biting games we have ever played. At the end of the season my coach voted me best defensive player. This year there are many tournaments that my team will be attending. I also play up with the older age groups. This year I will be playing with the Juveniles, Juniors, and Seniors which means I will be attending additional tournaments and competitions. Among the many there is Serendipidi Cup in Toronto, Alberta Open in Calgary, Juvenile Nationals in Montreal, Junior Nationals in Winnipeg, and Senior Nationals in Montreal. I may also be attending NORAMS, an international competition, if I make the Junior National team or the Youth team. The money that I received from CAAWS/Nike girls@play grant will go towards those and other trips I may be attending in the 1999-2000 season. My two brothers and my parents have been a major part of my success. The support they give me and the way they accept my determination and dedication to be the very best I can be cannot e matched. But, there is one person whom I could not have made it to where I am today without. My coach, Trina Campbell, is one of the most exceptional women I have ever met. Her encouragement and faith in her players makes water polo fun but also pushes us to strive for our personal best! She has been a friend and a mentor for all three years that I have been with the club. As an ex-national team player, she has incredible knowledge of the game. The skills she possesses help me in and out of the water. She has taught me leadership skills and tactics to help better my talents. But most of all, she has taught me to never give up because you can be anything you want to be and accomplish anything you want to accomplish if you set your heart and mind to it! Because of Trina I work my hardest every practice, day in and day out, in hopes that one day I will be able to represent my country at the Olympics. Being able to play on the Senior Women's Nation Team and represent my country would be a dream come true. But, dreams can be very challenging. Then again, challenges are what I live for! And, in order to succeed, we must first believe that we can. And I believe that I can! Anyone that puts their heart and mind into something and dedicates himself or herself to it, will, one day, have their dreams become a reality. Wayne Gretzky once said, "One hundred percent of the shots you don't take, don't go in." The same goes with trying. If you don't try, how will you ever know if you will succeed or not? I know that even if I improve a lot, there is a chance that I won't make the National Team. And the farthest I will go in water polo is playing at Nationals with my club team. But, at least I will know that I gave it my best shot. And that is all anyone can really do! I don't know where I will be in ten years or even in one. I'm not sure if I will even be playing water polo a ways down the road. All I know is that the friendships that I have made and all of the experiences I have gained will be with me for the rest of my life. Some people believe that the more belongings or money they have, the richer they are. I believe that the experiences and friendships I have made make me the richest person in the world! Janelle
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