Emphasis on Academics Allows UC Davis Women’s Water Polo Team to Thrive in Pursuit of Engineering Degrees

The UC Davis women's water polo team currently has four engineering students who are pushing the limit both in the classroom and in the pool. With the team training on average 20 hours a week during the school year, it's difficult to imagine one would have time for school. A team culture that starts with coaches advocating for a school-first approach allows them to thrive in and out of the pool.  

Meet the Aggie Engineers on the Team

Ally Clague 

A sixth-year on the team and a master's student studying mechanical and aerospace engineering, Clague is veteran for the Aggies. She noted how going to practice has taught her excellent habits to help her take care of her wellbeing. 

"We care so much about our athletic performance [which encourages us to take] care of ourselves," says Clague. "It can translate into our brains working at full capacity." 

Gianna Nocetti 

A second-year mechanical engineer on the team, Nocetti spoke about how connecting with people who were already a part of the team helped reduce anxiety and push herself to take harder engineering classes. She cited Clague as somebody who helped mentor her before she began at UC Davis. 

"It's nice to have people who paved the way," she said. She praised how welcoming all of her teammates were and "that [they'd] be that [supportive] person for someone else down the line."   

Madi Sparre 

A freshman studying biological systems engineering, Sparre has found the value in practicing positive self-talk.  

"That's the only thing you [hear when] your head's underwater," she said. "It's helpful in situations where you're pushing your body to its absolute limits." 

She noticed that she feels she is capable of more difficult feats by trusting her mental stamina during practice and games. When taking hard engineering courses, this is something she falls back on. 

Sarah Ellis-Keeler 

Ellis-Keeler, another first-year pursuing mechanical engineering, expressed how all of the partner work that they do on the team has helped her set new limits. Their pair workouts cause players to put all their attention towards pushing each other. 

"In the pool, it's all about 100% effort. Even if you're not mentally in a good place that day, we all keep each other going in practice," she said. 

Structure for Success 

Despite having such a compact schedule, the rigidity of their athletic schedules helps provide structure for their studying. 

Switching between going to practice and school has made it necessary to set time to focus all their attention on the given task.  

"Because my schedule is so full, I don't have time to procrastinate," said Clague. "It makes completing my work a lot easier."  

She cited Google Calendar as a savior. 

Nocetti added that having less time to do schoolwork is even more motivating.  

"You only have so many hours in the day," she explained. "Being busy has kept me more productive." 

Ellis-Keeler added that they often deal with travel over the weekend as well, which keeps them in check from letting work build-up. She said that going to practice is a nice "brain break [where] we get to play a sport that we love and hang out with our friends every day." 

Sparre added that it's difficult to be unproductive because it comes with the cost of neglecting well-being and schoolwork.  

"I can't stay up super late doing homework all the time because we [are committed] to practice in the morning." 

Positivity Creates a Blue-Zone 

Though the athletes shared that being busy creates a culture for productivity, they can face challenges with burning out. Spending most extended weekends in tournaments in preseason, it can be hard to find time to rest when the season starts.  

The opportunity to pursue a major like engineering with a huge time commitment is rare, something the UC Davis coaching staff helps make possible. 

"Our coaches are very supportive," Sparre said. "[We can] pursue a major we want to pursue – not one that makes it easy to devote all our time to water polo." 

Ellis-Keeler agreed that having to choose between water polo and school is, "not a challenge we have to face" given the coaches' ability to emphasize the 'student' in student-athlete. 

Clague spoke in support of the heavy emphasis on school by mentioning the motivational metaphor their head coach proposes.  

"We'll be at film taking notes on the other team," Clague says, "and [coach says], 'this is you studying for the midterm – the midterm is your game that's going to be on the weekend.'" 

According to Nocetti, the coaching style and support help to facilitate a family of athletes. In team sports, there can be competitiveness with playing time. The staff's emphasis on the team's mental endurance fosters their positive culture.  

"All of us want what's best for the team. The people who play the least motivate [everyone] to work harder." 

The team has two more engineering athletes they are bringing on next year that they cannot wait to add to their family.