Conor Shuey '14 Recruiting Profile

Conor Shuey Personal Statement

I have been a water polo player and swimmer since 2nd grade. I have played water polo for my high school team (Albuquerque High School) since 8th grade and swam for AHS since 9th grade. I am a member of USA Water Polo, Mountain Zone, and currently a senior at Albuquerque High School (AHS).

My principal club team for both water polo and swimming is Duke City Aquatics (DCA). I played with DCA’s 16U boys’ water polo team in the 2012 Junior Olympics at Stanford University, and have competed for DCA in the Mountain Zone Championships at Kearns, UT since 2007.

Between October 2012 and March 2013, I participated in the Olympic Development Program (ODP) out of USA Water Polo Mountain Zone.  I was invited to attend and competed in the National Team Selection Camp (NTSC) at UC Irvine at the end of May.  Between March and May, I led AHS to an undefeated (10-0) season and state championship in the New Mexico High School Water Polo League.

Beginning in Spring 2013, I began training with Team Vegas-Henderson (TVH) 18U boys’ team, coached by Mark St. John, competing in two tournaments and the 2013 JO’s at UC Irving in July.  TVH went 7-2 and finished 13th in the 18U Championship (Platinum) Section.  I am slated to play again with the TVH 18U team at tournaments in November 2013, January 2014 and February 2014, and at the 2014 JO’s.

Most recently, I led DCA to the championship of the 18U boys’ division at the Albuquerque Water Polo Club fall tournament, and played another four games with the Chicago Masters team in the Masters division of the tournament.  I have also been scrimmaging and practicing as much as possible with the New Mexico Masters team.

In all, I have played in 75 to 80 water polo games and scrimmages in New Mexico and California since January 2013. I played with two freshman D-1 players on the TVH club team, and played against some of the best high school water polo players in California in three summer tournaments and at the ODP NTSC.  This experience has helped greatly improve my understanding of the game and my skill levels.

In addition, I have grown an inch and added 15 pounds of muscle to my frame since February.  I am now 6'2" tall and weigh 180 pounds.  I am in excellent physical condition. I am lifting 3 to 5 days a week, playing water polo 5-6 days a week, and attending regular swimming practice 5 days a week.

My goal has always been to play water polo in college.  With my recent game experience and physical growth, I know I can compete at the Division I level in college. However, if I cannot get a D-I opportunity out of high school, I would be excited to attend a top Junior College program, preferably in California.  I am looking for a good academic fit, too; I plan on majoring in kinesiology or exercise science toward a degree in physical therapy.

My high school team was coached in 2013 by Bryant Shuey, Ruben Kimmelman, and Mitchell Byrd.  DCA, my club team since 2007, is coached by Janet Lyon-Huffman and Jeff Donaldson. And Jimmy Phillips has been my high school swimming coach since 9th grade.

I am a utility player, having the ability to play all five outside positions and hole set on offense. I have been the principal hole-set defender on both my high school and club teams. In 2012 and 2013, I led AHS in goals, steals, forced ejections, and sprints won.  In addition to winning the NMHSWPL on May 5. I was named Most Valuable Player for the second year in a row, and named to the league first team for the third straight year.  This was Albuquerque High’s first state title, having finished second in three previous seasons.

In high school swimming, I took 6th Place in the 100-yard breaststroke at the 2013 New Mexico State Swimming Championships with a time of 1:00.91.  Our AHS boys’ team took 5th Place at State in the 4x100 freestyle relay; I ran a 48.10-second anchor in that race. My fastest 100 freestyle off the blocks to date is hair short of 51 seconds. I was MVP of my high school swim team in 2011 (freshman year) and 2013 (junior year), and won Most Improved Player in 2012.

My high school GPA is about 3.5 and I am interested in pursuing exercise physiology in college.  I am a serious student and athlete, and I work hard at improving every day.  Please visit my Berecruited page, http://new.berecruited.com/athletes/1168059. I will be adding more photos and videos soon.