I have always loved the game of water polo. I have always
been a student of the game. I was told
even as a young player that I was always one play ahead. That I controlled the pace of the game. That I
did a good job directing my teammates. These are all traits that I translated into
coaching.
I never coached for the glory. In coaching the SDSU Club Water Polo team I
did it for multiple reasons. Mostly I love the game and had really missed
it.
While coaching with the help of my sister Brooke we noticed
right away a lack of female coaches. I
think in our division there is maybe one other team with a female coach. Well you all know that I am competitive so I
will be honest Brooke and I wanted to do nothing more than show them up. It was obvious some of these coaches thought playing us
would be a walk in the park. They missed the memo of who was coaching. Always great fun to make adjustments during
the game that they had no idea how to overcome.
When we played at Nationals it was much the same. Very few female coaches. Maybe two other teams. During the tournament I was asked by a few
coaches for tips, scouting reports. One
coach even asked me to explain different plays I had run because they had never
seen it before. I took all of this as a
compliment. But it also made me realize
just how much many coaches have no clue about.
I told you this because I was extremely honored a few days
ago when I was named by the College Water Polo Association and the Pacific Coast
Division as Coach of the Year. I found
out via facebook like all things- a girl I played with in high school Sharon
Dyer who plays for UCI’s club team congratulated me. She was so sweet saying how I deserved
it. I was proud to say I nominated her
for 1st team and she was selected and receiving a great honor as
well.
Receiving the coach of the year honor was a first for
me. I have never received any type of
honor like this before. It was also the
first time in the club programs history to receive coach of the year, MVP of
the league, a player on 1st team, and two players on 2nd
team. Basically all of this was a program first. I was also honored to receive multiple nominations
for Coach of the Year for the entire College Water Polo Association.
I didn’t coach for the glory and it’s not like I got a ton
for being named coach of the year. The
school did not even recognize the team making it to nationals. But it sure feels good to get some recognition
for the girls and myself. Honestly just
feels damn good to beat out the boys. Water polo is no longer a man’s game- watch out the Vessey sisters are
coming!!!
