Any person who knows me, whether it’s on a personal or a casual level, would know that I am a water polo player. I take pride in wearing my team gear, cap, and suit. You could ask me anything from the Olympics (Team USA women are amazing, men are in a rebuilding process), to college water polo (UCLA men are on a 55 game winning streak). Even my coworkers call me “water polo” because it’s such a big part of my life.
However, what they might not know is that when it comes to the sport and my family’s involvement, I am a party of one. This is in part to the fact that my family is very involved in the sport of soccer.
My older sister played on a high school state championship team, and for a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I program, and younger brother is working his way to a starting spot on his high school soccer team.
This is all in part to my father’s success as a soccer player and his desire to see us succeed in the game.
Now although the story of an athlete breaking away from their parent’s mold can be a tired and true story, my father was not exactly your traditional soccer player.
In fact, with his type of legacy, I’m surprised I was able to venture off towards my own path. It’s hard to say no to that legacy knowing that I had a world of opportunity that I have chosen to deny.
It’s hard not to be able to relate to your siblings who work with your father multiple hours on the field while you’re in a pool, swimming lap after lap.
It’s hard to think that despite how many times you are off traveling with a team to play your sport, there is someone you might not see in the stands because they’re watching one of their players in a match.
However, I would argue the hardest challenges I face, are whenever I am asked why I made the choice to leave soccer behind in favor of the unknown or if I’m asked do I ever regret the choice I made.
Sometimes I do wonder what my life would have been like if I chose to play soccer and not even pick up a water polo ball. Would I be happy or unhappy? Would I be able to live up to my dad’s expectations or live in my own fear of never doing so?
Without water polo, however, I would not be living a life where I can introduce my dad and the rest of my family to a whole new sport. Or answer questions they have about what happens in plays throughout a game. It does not stop my dad from being observant of my tendencies as a player and when he notices that I’m playing to the best of my abilities or not. He has been able to provide me with the best advice about how to be a leader, how to preserver, and how to be someone that can be counted on by coach and my teammates in and out of the water.
There are other things that I am certain of too: I am playing the sport that I love and I have worked hard to take my skills to the collegiate level. I have found some of my closest friends and people who are always ready to play no matter where I am. I have made some of my best memories and learned some of life’s most important lessons from this sport. I have found that I want to continue to see the sport grow and help in any way I can.
That’s what my father’s true legacy is: being someone that is capable of achieving success no matter what. I am proud to be a part of that type of legacy, with or without a soccer ball in hand.
