As the goalie of the Coronado girls water polo team, Harper Gilbert is the backbone of communication for the small, all-senior squad.
Gilbert has been the starting varsity goalie for the past two years—a performance which caught the attention of UC Davis, where she has verbally committed to play for next year.
In college, she plans to double major in political science and international affairs with the overarching goal to become a lawyer.
Water polo athlete for almost six years
Gilbert said she first moved to Coronado six years ago, and she has been playing water polo for about as long.
Since her dad was in the Navy, Gilbert grew up in a variety of places—Florida, Virginia and Japan, to name a few.
Her dad’s military service brought the family to Coronado, and he retired from the Navy about three months ago.
Gilbert said that water polo was a sport she decided to try for fun shortly after coming to the island, and it stuck.
Leading from the cage
She started out as a field player before moving in front of the cage.
“It’s definitely more of a cerebral position I would say. You have to run the defense. The analogy is always, you’re the quarterback of the defense.”
-Harper Gilbert, senior water polo player.
“It’s definitely more of a cerebral position I would say,” Gilbert said about being a goalie. “You have to run the defense. The analogy is always, you’re the quarterback of the defense.”
Now, Gilbert leads the team through communication.
On defense, she determines if the team needs to drop back, press, or take away the super high percentage shots. The quality of her passes also set up the offense for success.
The team this season is small.
With all seniors and only one substitute, the girls have to be intentional in their movements and smart with how they pick apart teams, since they don’t have extra people to fill in any gaps of fatigue.
“Our strengths are definitely our endurance and our grit,” Gilbert said.
Unique bond
The team also has a unique bond.
The majority of the girls have been playing together for four years, so over that time, they have developed the chemistry and cohesion that only comes with longevity.
“We’ve all kind of had three or four seasons together to learn how we work together,” Gilbert said.
This season, the team is headed by coach Jesse Smith, who just led the Coronado boys water polo team to a Division 1 title in the fall.
The girls were 6-2 as of mid-December, and started the year with a 21-0 drubbing of Steele Canyon.
