To say water polo is in Caitlin Schafer’s blood is an understatement. Thanks to her three older brothers, the junior Baler has been around water polo since she was 10 years old.
That experience and brotherly influence is easy to see out in the pool.
“From when I was a little girl – when I was 10 – they would put me in the pool and push me under water,” Schafer said of her three brothers, Josh, 18, Jordan, 18, and James, 22. “(They) taught me how to do tricks and taught me what they know (about water polo). I went in and sort of learned how the boys played and I brought that into the girls game.”
This year, her play took over games.
The speedy offensive threat led the Tri-County Athletic League in all major categories this year, dominating the league with 141 goals, 74 assists and 216 steals in a mere 25 games – and as a result was named the Free Lance/ Pinnacle Most Outstanding Fall Female Athlete this season.
All that success started simply because her brothers played the sport, she said.
“I saw them playing, and I wanted to,” she said. “Once I started doing it, I wanted to keep playing and progressing at it.”
It’s been six years now since Schafer first jumped in a pool to play water polo at a competitive level – and she has never looked back. Starting with a Morgan Hill-based club team, Schafer quickly started to gain more and more recognition for her play.
Eventually, she started to travel farther north to play water polo, landing in Palo Alto – where she still plays at the club level.
This past year, Schafer took her success at San Benito High and her club teams to the Olympic Development Program. The program brings together the 12 best water polo players from Carmel to the Bay Area.
Schafer was selected out of roughly 100 water polo players to be on the ODP’s Pacific Regional “Red” team – an “A” team made up of players in the 11th grade or under.
That experience made her even better once the Balers’ season started this past fall, she said.
“It made me and my teammates push to be successful so we could show the other teams that we’re just as good as them,” Schafer said. ” I just wanted to bring the skills that I learned and show my team we can all use them and make us a better team.”
The experience turned Schafer into a coach out in the pool, making head coach Hayley Vandercook’s job a little easier.
“She means a ton to our team,” Vandercook said. “If I want to work with the goalies or the whole set, Caitlin can work with the younger players. I don’t have to teach her anything but the plays.”
Without her, the team would lose at the very least five goals a game, Vandercook said.
“She made the difference in each game,” Vandercook said. “She was the difference this year.”
Schafer’s success in the pool carried over into the Balers 15-11 season record, including a third place finish in the TCAL Mountain Division playoffs and a first-round exit in the Central Coast section playoffs.
And it wasn’t just her offense that played such a vital role in the Balers’ season.
“She is not just a great offensive player – she is a great defensive player,” Vandercook said.
Her defensive fortitude showed against Santa Clara earlier in the year, Vandercook remembered. In the game, Santa Clara’s main offensive weapon was tormenting the Balers.
“She was a huge girl that was so big that when she got the ball, you couldn’t stop her,” Vandercook. “I told Caitlin to take care of it.”
And Schafer did just that.
Using her quickness and speed, Schafer swarmed the player, who was three times her size, to stop her.
“She didn’t score again,” Vandercook said.
It’s that speed and elusiveness that elevates Schafer above her competition.
“What allows me to have success, is that I’m pretty fast and I can think fast,” she said. “I’m not just watching and sitting and not doing anything. I’m always moving and I’m always looking for the ball.”
She has been a vital part of the team since her tryout as a freshman three years ago, Vandercook said.
“She is a natural leader and she was when she first tried out,” Vandercook said.
Schafer still has room to grow.
“New experiences keep coming to me and that’s why I’ve become so successful,” she said. “I’m looking forward to next year. Hopefully, we will do better and keep on progressing as a team.”
And then it will be off to college for the junior.
“I really hope to play in college so I can play at a collegiate level and get a better experience,” she said. “Also, I play club and ODP in high school so I want to continue my water polo career and just get better.”
That shouldn’t be a problem for the junior.
“She is going to play in college,” Vandercook said. “She’ll keep on getting better.”
And that’s a scary thought for the rest of the TCAL.
