Sports

Making a splash: Water polo standout is part of Olympic development program

Pictured is the Staples co-op squad members and coaches. Photos from Christina Di Carlo Ferrari By Andy Hutchison WESTPORT – Westport is home to water polo enthusiasts, including Staples High sophomore standout Virginia Ferrari and her Staples co-op club teammates and captains Stella Savone and Olivia Kulga, also of Westport. The rest of the lineup […]

Published

on


Pictured is the Staples co-op squad members and coaches. Photos from Christina Di Carlo Ferrari

By Andy Hutchison

WESTPORT – Westport is home to water polo enthusiasts, including Staples High sophomore standout Virginia Ferrari and her Staples co-op club teammates and captains Stella Savone and Olivia Kulga, also of Westport. The rest of the lineup comprises student-athletes from surrounding/ nearby communities.

Water polo continues in the school club offseason for Ferrari. She is in her fourth year playing club water polo and in her second as part of the Olympic Development Program (ODP) North East zone team.

The ODP is a training program designed to identify and develop athletes for the U.S. National Teams. It serves as the primary pathway for athletes that want to represent the country in water polo, meaning Ferrari has aspirations to advance in her career.

The country is divided into 13 regions and the athletes compete to be selected for a spot in the team of their zone. The program starts at the beginning of the fall season with ODP Zone camps, followed by regional championships and, potentially, national championships. 

“I enjoy playing with the development team very much. Playing with them gives me the opportunity to learn new plays and challenge myself even more. Also playing with different people every year is very exciting and fun,” Ferrari said.

Whether she is on the pool representing the Staples co-op club squad or competing for ODP Ferrari enjoys water polo because “it is a team sport and even if it is very tiring and I need to sacrifice the time with my friends and most of my weekends, I really enjoy spending my time in the water,” she said.

Ferrari is a utility player. In practice she asks the coaches to help her master different positions so the coaches and the team can rely on her ability to perform across the pool. “For this, I practice to my very best everywhere and try to be prepared when I have a game,” she said.

Sophomore Virginia Ferrari, left, and junior Olivia Kuliga are two Westport representatives on the Staples co-op club team. Photo by Christina Di Carlo Ferrari

“I love playing on the Staples Water polo co-op team, because first, I’m very proud to represent Staples and second, because it is an opportunity to make new friendships with kids from other schools in the area. But mostly because of the team spirit. Ever since I have joined the Staples team, the electricity and enthusiasm that the team brings to every game or practice is amazing,” Ferrari said.

Global experience to bring back to the local team

Ferrari was part of the Staples swim team her freshman year but unfortunately, due to an injury could not join the team at the beginning of her sophomore year. Ferrari plans to be part of the swim team again in the fall of 2025.

During the Staples offseason Ferrari practices water polo at Greenwich Aquatics which is the most competitive level you can play water polo in the state, she said. “I travel a lot with them also because most of the tournaments are in California.”

During the last spring break Ferrari also played in Italy with a team from Sicily. “It was an incredible experience for me because in addition to learning different plays, I also met amazing players that made me feel immediately part of the team and I’m looking forward to the next opportunity to play with them,” she said.

Ferrari said she would like to convince others to join the Staples club water polo team because even it requires a lot of effort and stamina, it is a lot of fun. The more experienced players combine efforts with coaches to help the newer player develop.

“Together with the Staples coaches we have taught kids from all different grades how to learn to play the sport just by taking it step by step but definitely you need to have a strong background in swimming,” Ferrari said.

The Staples co-op is led by coaches Danillo Sierra and Kade Ramirez. Sierra notes that the sport has grown tremendously in Westport and the area.

“Water polo has taken a turn in the last three years at Staples High School and Fairfield County. Since 2004 when water polo started as a club program at Staples it has been a challenge increasing the popularity and level of the sport. Two seasons ago, things changed when Staples opened the door to athletes from other schools that wanted to take part in their program and train, play, and travel against other schools — mostly private and club teams — all over the county and New England region,” Sierra said.

The level of play and popularity has increased leading to the formation of the Northeast Water Polo Club, a local program that has been targeting and helping young athletes to learn more about water polo and helping their transition to high school and college, Sierra said.

“Our main goal is to keep growing and make sure all athletes can have an easy transition from middle to high school and create more opportunities for scholarships so they can play water polo at a collegiate level,” Sierra added.

Ferrari certainly has enjoyed her water polo playing experience and is hopeful of continuing at the next level.

“One thing I’m sure about is that I would like to go to a college that has a high level of water polo but that also has very good academics. It won’t be easy since there are not many colleges with women’s teams but I will definitely work hard to achieve this goal,” she said.

Many water polo student-athletes from the Staples program have gone on to play the sport at schools including Connecticut College, the University of Connecticut, Fordham, Boston College, Brown University and the University of Southern California.

“We would like to invite more young athletes to join our water polo program so we can share with them the passion we feel from the sport,” Sierra said.

Andy Hutchison has been covering school sports — including Staples athletics — as well as news and feature stories in Fairfield County, since the 1990s.



Link

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Trending

Exit mobile version