Finnlee Morgan, ’22 and Kate Crockett, ’22 are this year’s girls varsity water polo captains. For the boys- Beau Gendron, ’22 and Nathan Bettencourt, ’22.
Morgan and Crockett share the same goal for this season- to win the West Yosemite League (WYL) title, and hopefully Valley.
Morgan has been on the varsity team for two years now, and has played for five years overall. She had actually originally quit her dominant sport, swim to start playing.
Photo Courtesy of Morgan
Outside of Redwood polo, Morgan plays for the Exeter Water Polo club. She’s played for them for two years now. Prior to Exeter, she played for Visalia SOVA club for a year and was taken to the Junior Olympics.
“The best part for me is being able to play the sport I fell in love with with friends I’ve had for years, all the new ones, too. The school spirit that comes along with sports at Redwood is electrifying. I love every second of it.”
Finnlee Morgan, ’22 Varsity Girls Water Polo Co-Captain
Photo courtesy of Crockett
As this year’s co-captain, Morgan plans to “keep up the team’s spirit, and bring them together any way [she] can.”
She adds, “I’m always optimistic whether it’s in the pool or out.” Morgan hopes to teach and guide her teammates throughout the season to “strengthen [the] team as a whole.”
She states, “It’s truly an honor to be their captain.”
Girls varsity’s other captain, Kate Crockett, ’22 has been on the varsity team for three years, but has played the game for four years overall.
Her favorite part about playing polo and being a part of the team is the, “feeling of family and power” that she gets from it.
She adds, “Being a part of a team where everyone loves, cares, and wants the very best for you is such a precious thing and I’m glad to be a part of it.”
Crockett hopes to pass down all the water polo traditions that were passed down to her such as a mid-night swim sometime this season, and a “time of silence” before a game.
“I’m very grateful for such an awesome team and a wonderful school that brought us together. And I’m totally ready to kick some butt this season, so bring it on.”
Kate Crockett, ’22 Girls Varsity Water Polo Co-Captain
According to the varsity girls’ assistant coach, Mieke Howell, the team came together to select Morgan and Crockett as captains. She says, “They know who they would respond to best as a leader, and they voted, and it was an almost unanimous decision…”
So far this season, the team as a whole have been “very positive, very supportive, [and a] very hard working group of girls.”
Photo courtesy of Donya Hassanshahi
Coach Howell adds, “Kate and Finnlee are some of the most relentlessly positive people that I’ve ever met in my life, so I know as a coach, I’m thankful that they are the captains of this team, but I know that their teammates are also very grateful that they have captains that are as hard working and as positive as Kate and Finnlee are.”
Varsity boys water polo co-captain, Beau Gendron, ’22 has been on the varsity team for three years, but has been playing the game for nearly six years.
Throughout these years, Gendron has played for numerous club teams including SOVA and Visalia Unified (Vnited).
A goal that he and the rest of the team share is to win Valley and to take home the traditional and sentimental ring.
Gendron says, “I love winning with my friends around me… I plan on help leading my team by trying to keep us all cool-headed during the games.”
Varsity boys’ other captain, Nathan Bettencourt, ’22 has been on the varsity team for four years now, but has been playing the game for nearly seven years.
When beginning his career, Bettencourt says, “my parents kind of just threw me in the pool and expected me to play, and kind of just forced me into it.” However, over the years as he continued to play, he grew his passion.
Being a part of the Redwood team, Bettencourt says, “My favorite part about Redwood water polo is how close we are as players, each player has each other’s back, and I’m confident that each of our players would look out for another player.”
Regarding his love for the game, Bettencourt loves, “watching our effort succeed in this season… I know how much work we put into the pre-season, and it’s really rewarding watching it come into fruition.”
Outside of Redwood polo, Bettencourt used to play for the club, SOVA which is where he initially started playing.
Looking towards the season and the eight-year WYL Champions streak Redwood has maintained, Bettencourt says, “our [the team] expectations are set pretty high, the bar’s pretty high, and I would be disappointed with no other than nine-straight titles and an undefeated season.”
Regarding his goals for this season, Bettencourt personally, is aiming towards making “First Team All League” for WYL.
As the role of co-captain, Bettencourt plans on “leading by example” to reach his expectations for the season.
He says, “Players don’t want to follow somebody who doesn’t put in the effort that they’re putting in, so I always try to make sure that I’m putting in a hundred and ten percent…”
“Every player works hard to do their job regardless. Especially some of the younger kids who don’t get as much playing time, they still come to practice and they give a hundred and ten percent.”
Nathan Bettencourt, ’22 Varsity Boys Water Polo Co-Captain
The boys and girls varsity teams play next Thursday, the 21 against Hanford at Hanford West High School. Varsity boys play at 5:30, varsity girls play at 6:30.
Sydney Brammer
Sydney Brammer, '22 is currently in her fourth year writing for the Redwood Gigantea. She has a strong passion for featuring the humans of Redwood, and enjoys putting the spotlight on the underdog. She has written for the Visalia Times Delta and Sungazette Sports. You can reach her by email at sydneybr17@gmail.com.
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