Brendan Wang '22 Recruiting Profile

Water polo is one of the most physically and mentally demanding sport. It is a sport that requires a lot of perseverance and endurance to be a good water polo player. It takes a lot to be good, it takes, even more, to be great. I believe that any athlete especially a water polo player should put 100% effort into everything he or she does. This means doing your best in every practice, playing your hardest in every game, and studying hard in the classroom. 

I myself am not physically gifted like a lot of the other water polo players in my recruiting class. I am not that tall, not that fast, but I have endurance. Endurance is something I have gained when I attended Devil Pups, a US Marine Corps-sponsored camp. In this program, I endured a series of challenges which culminated in a crucible. While I was neither the brightest nor the strongest in my platoon, my greatest contribution was endurance that helped my platoon reach its goal. We earned our title as Devil Pups by completing a climb up the highest point at Camp Pendleton. During the trek, my fellow cadets and I were pushed beyond our limits, but we did not stop. I hurt my leg early on the trek; other teammates experienced various pains, but with endurance, we leaned on one another for support, and together we climbed the mountain. After several grueling days, standing on top of the mountain with my platoon was one of the most impactful moments of my life. This helped me understand that there is nothing too hard for me to achieve. I can persevere and endure through the pain, and achieve anything I put my mind to. 

I have played water polo for 8 going on for 9 years now. Water polo is one of the first sports I have really enjoyed playing. From the physicality of the game to the strategy and mental game, there is always something new to do. I started my water polo career with the Irvine Kahuna water polo club. There I played for 6 years under the guidance of many great coaches. Unfortunately, as I aged up, more and more of my teammates started to go to other clubs. I now play for Tustin Patriots aquatics under coach Duje. Coach Duje has helped me improve my game by helping me perfect my fundamentals. He also has helped strengthen me physically and mentally, through training both on land and in the water. I hope to keep growing as a player under his guidance. 

Finally, I am a student-athlete, so that means academics always come first. I put a lot of effort both in the classroom and on the pool deck. I put in work to achieve my dream of attending the United States Naval Academy, but I will be honored to play at any school with a Navy ROTC. I want to become a Naval officer after college, to give back and serve the country that gave me the opportunity to live the amazing life I have.

Water polo is a really important part of my life and I want to continue playing in college.