Alara Ataman '25 Recruiting Profile

My ultimate goal has always been to become part of one of the top universities, while following my passion for water polo.

I’m 16 years old ( born 2007 ), and currently going into my Junior year at Oakville Trafalgar High school. I work hard in school to pursue my dream of playing water polo at an elite level University. I currently have an unweighted 4.0 GPA.

I used to be a swimmer for 6 years, and now am going into my fifth year of water polo. As I am a dual citizen I play with my club teams in both Canada and Turkiye but also with the Turkish National Team as I most recently participated in the 2023 17U European Champs. Being a swimmer gave me an advantage going into my water polo career since I was one of the fastest in every game.

I come from a family of Elite aquatic athletes. My father played water polo for the Turkish National Team and went to the Dominican University of California, where he created a water polo team by collecting signatures around the campus. My Mother on the other hand was a Turkish National Team swimmer, she competed in multiple European Championships and loves to talk about it. My parents being in this world of athleticism, and especially my dad being a water polo player helps me with all qualities of an athlete inside and outside of the pool, even with my personality, as my mom likes to say, “The better of an athlete you are, the better of an attitude you should have towards others.”

I train 6 days/per week. We have 5 club practices and I train with the regional development program in Toronto. I believe that continuous hard work leads to success, hence last year I had heard a quote from a coach and it really had stuck to me. “Any practice you skip or slack off, someone gets one practice better than you.” 

I’m currently a part of three different teams in two countries countries, ( Seniors - Toronto Golden Jets , 17U - CAMO - Canada, Galatasaray - Turkiye ). It’s always a different experience playing in different countries, but I always am able to adapt to the team and the way my coaches want me to plan and execute plays. 

While playing in the 15u Turkish National Championships last year. I was a starter, and had the highest Goals and Assists in the championships ( 39 Goals in 6 games), and our team finished third overall.

The summer of 2022, I was a starter on the 15U Team Ontario, where we won silver in the Provincial National Championships playing 3 close games with Team Quebec. 

I know that each experience and any small bit of knowledge I can get from a correction of a coach, or while playing against another athlete, can help me develop the skills and game knowledge I would need in my NCAA career. I’m so passionate about water polo, I just can’t think of a life in University without it.