Every four years, the best athletes in the world have the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compete in the Olympics. For any serious athlete, going to the Olympics is the ultimate goal—and it starts with a dream. But that is only the beginning.
Junior Tessa Draper is a competitive water polo player who was recently chosen to join the USA Water Polo Olympic Development Program (ODP) in Long Beach, which starts in May. As a long-time water polo player, Draper says, “I love it. It’s my favorite thing to do. I like playing as a team and it’s a really unique and fun sport to play. My brother played in high school and he inspired me to play—I’ve always loved swimming.”
Draper started playing water polo at the age of seven. In her years of training, Draper’s ultimate goal was to reach the Olympics. Draper says, “When I started to go to [the] Junior Olympics with my club during the past two years, it became more of a possibility.”
Being a part of the ODP makes the possibility of the Olympics more viable. Given that the sport is physically demanding, the program emphasizes the importance of physical fitness and strong technical and tactical skills.
Draper, who was chosen to continue her Olympic training in May, was chosen in early March after participating in Regional Championships. Prospective coaches could then search for players who captured their interest. Of the hundreds of girls at the tournament, Draper was one of 70 girls chosen. She says, “I was aggressive on defense and I practiced what I learned at ODP—which is what they look for. They like seeing you implement the forms. Similar to her previous training camps, the ODP in Long Beach will be held all day and over the weekend with eight hours of training. Not only will she be training at the program, Draper will also be competing to earn a spot on either the National Youth Team or the UANA Junior Select Team. “I would like to make the national team,” she says. “There are about 14 girls on the National Youth team and UANA, which is like an international team that travels.”
Given the extreme selectivity of the latter two teams, Draper says, “I think it’ll be really hard [to make one of the national teams]. I think it’s possible but I’m worried because Southern California —which is where most of the people who were selected are from—is a hub for water polo because they’re really good and they’re known for that. So I’ll have some competition with that, but I think I have a chance.”
For the love of the sport and for the opportunity of enhancing her skills, Draper also plays on Aragon’s water polo team. “During school, [practice is] about two hours a day,” she says. “When I was in ODP, once a month we had an all-day training from nine o’clock to five on Saturdays.”
Given the duration and frequency of the practices, Draper says, “The practices can get a little tedious and annoying, especially when there’s morning practice or ODP because it’s on the weekends. It’s kind of hard to fit in homework.”
But even with the extensive practices, she says, “I put school first when I need to but I keep in the back of mind that if I want to move forward with this, I have to focus on it as well. So, I try to balance it.”
And it is ultimately this devotion and intensity that allows Draper to strive towards her ambition. She says, “I want to be the best that I can be and I want to have the chance to be on the national team.”
