Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week: Jessica Wells

Barry Faulkner

Jessica Wells always lacked wanderlust in the water. But, when it

came to finding a water polo home, the senior goalie logged more than

6,000 round-trip miles before landing in the Corona del Mar High pool.

Three years later, she has the respect and admiration of teammates she

values as friends, the experience of being tutored by a pair of talented

head coaches, two seasons as the varsity starter, a reputation as a solid

shot stopper and, oh by the way, a CIF Southern Section Division IV

championship.

It all began in junior high, when her passion for swimming was soon

cooled by the realization she wasn’t exactly fast company.

“I had been in swimming for a long time, but I wasn’t a very good

swimmer,” recalled the Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week, who capped her

CdM career by making seven saves in the Sea Kings’ 11-6 title-game

triumph over El Dorado Saturday at Belmont Plaza.

“Swimming was also so individual and I wanted to do something more

with a team. My mom suggested water polo and I started with SoCal (a

Tustin-based club program) my eighth-grade year. The first game we ever

played, we didn’t have a goalie. Someone said ‘Jessica, you have a good

eggbeater (the kick used to remain upright), why don’t you start in the

goal.’

“I just seemed to fit there and I still love the position. I never

wondered about or wanted to play field.”

Wells, however, wandered across the country to attend ninth grade at a

boarding school in Massachusetts. She started at goalie that season, but

quickly found the level of play far below what she had been used to.

“The water polo wasn’t very good,” Wells said. “I decided to transfer

back out here for water polo reasons.”

She said she picked CdM for its academic environment, as well as its

strong reputation for water polo.

After a year on the junior varsity, she was the varsity starter the

last two seasons, leaving the CdM goal Wells protected.

CdM Coach Aaron Chaney said Wells’ work ethic and determination

allowed her to become a notable player. And her maturity made her a

valued team leader.

“Jessica really improved her skills,” said Chaney, who had worked with

her previous to this year, when filling in for John Vargas, who was

leading the U.S. men’s national team at the time. “Her blocking skills

became much better and she really came a long way as a passer. Two years

ago, she had difficulty throwing the ball the length of the pool.”

Wells, with guidance from Vargas and Chaney, went to great lengths to

become a polished passer, successfully triggering the Sea Kings’ vaunted

counterattack.

“Vargas used to say ‘The pass from the goalie is everything,’ ” Wells

said. “That put a lot of pressure on me and I used to get really nervous

about my passing. But I eventually developed confidence.”

That confidence was shared by her defense, and she reciprocated in

kind.

“Our defense is so good, I give a lot of credit to my teammates,”

Wells said. “We had some games, where I barely had to touch the ball.”

Even when she was not blocking balls with her hands, arms, torso, even

face -- she said she has worn with great pride the three or four black

eyes brought on by shots -- Wells contributes by coordinating her

teammates in the water.

She does the same, Chaney said, out of the water and at practice.

“When I took over, Vargas (now the Stanford men’s coach) told me she

deserved to be one of the captains,” Chaney said. “And he knew what he

was talking about. Her ability to keep the girls focused, on task,

organized and together, really helped us all season.

“She’s a great kid and very mature for her age. She came to every

practice willing to work hard and improve herself.”

Wells said she attended summer camps and training workshops to further

polish her skills. She would like to continue develop those skills by

playing in college, perhaps at her dream school, Princeton, which would,

once again, send her back East.

But wherever her future leads her, she will always cherish her time at

CdM.

“It’s great to be leaving as a champion,” she said. “But another thing

that is really special, is that we accomplished every goal we set for

ourselves this year.”