For the fourth time in her high school career, varsity girls water polo team captain, senior Sofia Tedesco has qualified for the water polo Junior Olympics. At the tournament, Tedesco will play against highly ranked teams, helping her gain experience.

“[Playing at JO] is really fun. You get to meet people who will play D1,” Tedesco said. “I’ve played against teams where half of their players end up going to UCLA for water polo.” 

While attending events like JO, Tedesco said it is not uncommon to recognize friends from other teams, as the sport has introduced her to a large network of players.

“Every single high school team we’ve played, I’ve known at least one person on the opposing team,” Tedesco said. “I have a wide spread of friends [from] getting to know other people through the sport.”

Having played on varsity since her freshman year, Tedesco has accumulated considerable experience and versatility, head coach Michael Fleming said. 

During practice, Tedesco encourages new players to make mistakes and learn from them to grow as players, set, junior Sadie Collins said. 

“[Tedesco] is very much a leader,” Collins said. “She’s very good at telling people what to improve and how to make their gameplay better, both physically and mentally.”

These qualities make Tedesco a great teammate and demonstrate why she is successful in qualifying for events like JO, Fleming said.

“[Tedesco is] just an incredibly hard worker,” Fleming said.“She can just do everything that any coach could ask for. She’s not just so specialized in one or two things.”

Additionally, Fleming said attending JO could also give Tedesco more insight on whether she would want to play water polo beyond high school.

“I think [JO] gives her a lot of experience, and so she knows what she [wants] to do,” Fleming said. “If she does want to play water polo, it might end up being on one of their club teams at whatever university she decides to go to.”

Though Tedesco does not plan on playing at a collegiate level after graduating, she said she still hopes to participate in the sport as a hobby. As she plays her final year of water polo, Tedesco said she advises new players who want to improve and attend events like JO to be inquisitive and open to feedback.

“If you aren’t going to take any feedback from people, they’re not going to want to help or give you their feedback and whatnot,” Tedesco said. “But if you ask for it, then I don’t think anyone who’s actually good at the sport is ever going to deny that information from you.”