Despite her first year ever playing water polo, on Sunday, Nov. 17, senior Amara Raab was named as a First Team All-District player during the girls water polo banquet. The award was a shock to the first-year point set, an offensive position located closest to the defending goal with the priority of playmaking, and hole set, a central offensive position focused on scoring. However, she proved her athletic progression throughout the season, as seen by her teammates, coaches, and herself.
Raab was introduced to the girls water polo program by one of her best friends and co-captain, senior Amir Habib-Weymouth, who was recognized as the best goalie in the district this season. Habib-Weymouth, having played recreationally since middle school, started taking the sport seriously once the team was established last season. Habib-Weymouth encouraged Raab to join the team, having known her since they attended Brentwood Elementary School together and played basketball at McCallum since their freshman year.
“Towards the beginning of the season, Amara was definitely just trying to learn the sport,” Habib-Weymouth said. “She would often play set defense, which means she was right by me in the goal, and so I would often talk her through her defensive rotations and how to help on the drive or in a two-on-one situation. She was a little bit less confident, but she was really working hard to be a student of the game.”
Similarly, water polo head coach Catherine O’Neal highlighted Raab’s progression throughout the season. She noted that Raab started to come out of her shell and become more of a confident player, especially due to having coached Raab her freshman year on the basketball team.
“I have seen her completely transform as far as maturity, being able to stay tough, her ability to communicate really well and really contribute to the team,” O’Neal said. “I have seen her grow as an individual contributor to a contributor to the whole team, like communicating to the team, coaching the team, and leading by example.”
Habib-Weymouth, who was also connected to Raab through freshman basketball, agreed that Raab’s progression this year was impressive.
“Towards the end of the season, she definitely found her voice and she started drawing more fouls and playing a lot stronger.”
O’Neal mentioned that Raab’s basketball experience added to her season’s overall success, noting that her skills from other sports translated well to water polo.
“Amara brings an overall understanding of the game, even though it was her first year, because she played basketball; she had an immediate understanding of how the fundamentals of making a play work, which is really integral to the success of our team,” O’Neal said. “She just understood the basics, like where to put the ball, how to move, how to get open, how to guard someone, how to be on defense, what it takes to be on offense and communication.”
On top of her skill and athleticism, O’Neal highlighted Raab’s resilient and determined personality.
“She is super tough,” O’Neal said. “She would barely come out, even when she had scrapes on her back, she would just stay in. I could see that look on her face, and she would just keep fighting.”
Since Raab was already close with O’Neal and Habib-Weymouth, her positive experience came more easily. Raab emphasized the community feeling of the team, even when she didn’t have much experience.
“It was super fun learning a new sport and meeting so many new people,” Raab said. “I had Coach O’Neal as a coach my freshman year and really looked forward to having her as my coach again. One of my best friends was [a] captain, so it made starting a new sport less scary.”
However comfortable with the team she was, Raab was shocked at her award because she found challenges in the sport initially.
“It means a lot to me because as a new player, I had to work to learn the game and then improve on everything I had learned,” she said. “It was an amazing feeling to have all my hard work pay off in this way. Being able to play water polo with my friends made the hard work worth it.”
On the other end, Habib-Weymouth wasn’t as shocked.
“I was really proud of her, but I wasn’t surprised,” Habib-Weymouth said. “She worked so hard for that award and she definitely deserved it.”
Raab also believes that her younger self would idolize her for joining water polo.
“I think my younger self would be proud of present me, but also surprised that I play a new sport,” Raab said.
Raab’s experience on the team encouraged her to continue playing past her years at McCallum.
“I would love to play water polo in college as a club sport or just for fun,” Raab said. “It’s really enjoyable to play, and I hope wherever I end up has that opportunity.”
