Jake Campa '24 Recruiting Profile

How I got into water polo. 

Ever since I was little I have always done sports, starting off with baseball for about 8 years until I was eleven and moved to basketball until high school. I never really had the want or drive to be as good as I could in either sport and saw them as just fun things to do after school. At least until I discovered water polo. I still remember my parents coming into my room and asking me what I was planning on playing in high school and when I had no real answer they told me that they got an email from the water polo coach looking for new players to try the sport out. Immediately I wasn't a fan, the sport looked hard and the uniforms were well different. Nonetheless I showed up to the first day of this summer clinic with no real goal in mind just to try it out. At the time I couldn't get into the water since I had an injury so for the first week I was there I was pretty much out of the water throwing the ball and getting used to it. Slowly as I watched the players play the more interested I got in it. I saw myself go from not even wanting to be there to spending hours watching and learning so that when I was healed I was ready to play. The first day I got to get into the water was by far the hardest day physically in my life, never had I ever been so tired and hungry after practice while most of the boys looked like they just had the best nap of their life. Instead of giving up and quitting I went the next day sore as hell and played again. Slowly as time went on I got better and found myself enjoying the sport more and more. I would look forward to practicing every day and trying to find ways to make myself better. Whether that was doing exercise at home or spending hours watching film of myself and others trying to find ways to get better, there was plenty I needed to work on. Even to this day I look back at my highlights video I posted and I have so much to say on every little thing I did because I know I've gotten better and I know I can get better. 

My academic aspirations in college. 

I have never really been good at school until high school. Freshman year was very weird because of the pandemic I was attending a school that I had never been to. Even though I had a hard time staying on task because I have combined ADHD I still managed to get a 4.0 gpa both semesters of my freshman year. Compared to me never being able to get above a 3.3 gpa in middle school I would say something clicked with me. With the isolation of the pandemic I was able to learn how to learn and so far in my sophomore year I have a 4.0 and I'm not planning on getting anything different. Of course because I have and job, sports, and school it has been very difficult my 2nd semester but I am still on track to get a 4.0 again. In college I want to study aerospace engineering because I have always had a passion for engineering ever since I was little and a passion for space and anything that fly's. Recently I have taken up the hobby of astrophotography spending more than I most likely should have on a hobby. I aspire to get a bachelor's in science or masters in aerospace engineering and if I could play the sport I love while doing it, it would be my dream. 

What makes me a good candidate for your team?

I would be a good candidate for your team because I am a responsible driven player, I am also a versatile player being able to play any position proficiently except for set, mainly being able to play point and wing. Even though I am newer to the sport than most people who play polo I am a quick learner and always open for advice to get better and I'm always actively seeking to get better. Overall with my academic success and skill and love for the sport I feel like I would be a great addition to your team.   

What makes me different from other players?

The biggest difference between me and other players is my drive and love for the sport, my academic success, and my success outside of sports and school. In terms of my drive and love for the sport, I have never had more of a drive to be better in any other sport I have done and I am always looking to get better in any way. In terms of academic success I am holding a solid 4.0 gpa in school as of now and I am hoping to raise it in the future since I will be taking 2 more ap's and one more honors class in my junior year. For my success outside of sports and school would be the fact that I work part time and have many other hobbies including astrophotography, content creation, and competitive gaming which I also make some money from. I feel like these things show that I have good time management and overall I am a responsible person.