Tanner Haslinger '22 Recruiting Profile

As varsity team captain, I motivate my teammates to use their individual strengths towards achieving our team goals. Leading by example, I work with fervor and ambition in the trenches every hour we are together. 

As a dedicated player to this sport since age eight years, coaches have always looked to me to lead warmups and help those who were struggling. 

I have learned to be accepting of others’ skill levels and in turn, my coaches and teammates recognized this and chose me to be captain for two years. As a result, I received the Coaches’ Award given to the player demonstrating the most leadership, sportsmanship, motivation, and skill. 

Our high school water polo team historically comes just short of winning the championships every year. As team captain, this year I vowed to push us to the ultimate victory, winning our league and CIF championships for the first time, making our dream a reality.  We made it to the third round of CIFSS, Division 2. 

As captain, I put my dedication and tenacity to work by leading the team. I facilitate early morning and after school workouts, twice a day pushing our bodies to the brink of failure. Analyzing our opponents game videos helps me strategize our next moves. I organize practices that involve near impossible swim sets, heavy weight lifting reps, and pool drills, such as treading water with weight belts and lifting our bodies out of the pool repeatedly until our arms give out and muscles cramp. Our commitment paid off with a twenty-four win to six loss record. 

These experiences have taught me significant life skills to launch me into a successful future. By valuing collaborative teamwork, I encourage every player to contribute their unique piece of the puzzle. My strength is bringing people together and finding their best assets, and then motivating them to work hard to achieve their goals.  I am confident I will rely on these leadership skills to succeed and accomplish my future goals.