KAILUA-KONA – To say water polo is a passion for Bailey Walters would be a major understatement.
“It is my favorite thing. I love it,” Walters said. “On game days I love waking up knowing I’m going to be getting in the pool. It’s never a burden to get up for a day of water polo. It is my favorite thing to do.”
Walters is a sophomore at Konawaena and was instrumental in getting the sport reignited in Kealakekua.
“When I was in eighth grade, Konawaena didn’t have a water polo team,” Walters said. “I felt we needed a team at Konawaena so I talked to my summer league coach (Michael Godden) and athletic director Bill Trumbo and tried to get a team going. I put posters around school and got some of my basketball friends to try it out.”
The Wildcats are currently in their third year back from hiatus and have taken huge strides since the one-win campaign of 2013. The Wildcats own a 3-1 record this season and will be in the mix for a HHSAA state tournament berth. Walters, along with fellow Konawaena standouts Kaulana Ruedy, Mikala Fernandez and goalkeeper Taiana Tolleson are big reason for that.
“Bailey is one of our dominant players,” Konawaena head coach Michael Godden said. “She is able to help the other girls learn from her experiences and is a leader in the pool. And she is just a sophomore so there is obviously a lot of potential for her to still grow.”
Walters’ passion and commitment to the sport was rewarded earlier this month with a selection to the USA Water Polo Olympic Development Program (ODP) Hawaii Zone team. The selection meant she would be part of the eight-player Cadet (birth years 1999 and younger) squad made up of the top water polo prospects in Hawaii.
After a few practices, the team competed in Riverside, California against the top talent from across the nation at the ODP National Championships. While winning is always the goal, all the players were hoping to catch the eye of the ODP scouts and a spot at the National Team Selection Camp.
Kamehameha’s Pua Wong along with HPA’s Sarah Im and Louisa Duggan also competed at the event on the Youth (1997 and younger) Hawaii Zone team.
Walters was the second leading scorer on her team, but was not selected this time around. Just two girls from the Hawaii zone made the cut in the Cadet division, with the majority of the 55 selections coming from multiple California zones.
Making time
With the BIIF having just a 10-game schedule and pool time a scarce resource, Walters said she enjoyed having the extra time in the water, but also noticed a big difference in the level play.
“You definitely need to have playing time to be good, so just getting in the pool is a big thing,” Walters said. “Here we play 10 games. On Oahu they play 20 games, and even with that small difference you can tell they are that much better. Then you play against these mainland girls who play way more and it’s even harder.”
Godden thinks going to camps and tournaments like the ODP Championships is beneficial for BIIF as a whole.
“It’s instrumental for the sport here on the island,” Godden said. “Not only does she get that experience of going there, but she brings that back to our team and that helps us out in the long run and makes the league more competitive.”
Family affair
A surprise came in California when the coaches invited Payton Walters — Bailey’s younger sister — to compete on the Hawaii team in the Developmental (2001 and younger) division in California.
Even though Payton was very familiar with the sport, the games were her first legitimate water polo action.
“It was a lot different than anything I had done before, but I had a lot of fun,” Payton Walters said.
Water polo is very much a family affair for the Walters family. Bailey was first exposed to the sport when her older sister Megan Walters played four years at Kealakehe. There are also a few cousins waiting in the wings to fill spots on the Konawaena team in coming years.
A highlight of the trip to California was getting a tour of USC’s campus and athletic facilities. Trent Walters — Bailey and Payton’s dad — hopes that will be some extra inspiration to excel in the classroom.
“It was great from them to go see the colleges and everything that could be available to them,” he said. “It is good motivation to turn in their homework and gets good grades.”
And of course, Bailey has aspirations to keep playing water polo as long as she can.
“I really just want to go somewhere I can play water polo at the next level,” she said. “I’m not picky. I just want to keep playing when I go to college.”
