Player to watch: Mackie Kennedy

Samo's girls water polo team had four seconds left on the clock and were down by one in overtime. They had already endured a long game and with so little time left to tie it up the girls looked to their captain, perimeter player Mackie Kennedy ('14). Under the pressure of the team Kennedy made the critical shot and led her team to victory in sudden death.The win not only boosted the morale of the team, but showcased Kennedy's ability to play and work with her team under pressure."I took critical shots and in the moment, I was able to focus, work together with my team, and pull off a win," Kennedy said. "I realized that I had to step up and be the shooter. Once [the team] was put under pressure, we saw our potential."The success Kennedy was able to reach during that game was built off of her meager beginnings as a freshman. According to Kennedy, starting a sport as difficult as water polo without having ever played before was a challenge. However, she was determined to not only overcome it, but exceed in it.“I just kept working from that point freshman year,” Kennedy said. “I never missed practices and tried to be there for the team, making sure the other players were doing as well as they could.”Kennedy says the tight friendships she formed made the work, commitment and perseverance worthwhile.“The team is really close and I became really committed to it,” Kennedy said. “We spend a lot of time practicing at crazy hours and we’re always together. We have to rely on each other in the pool, which makes all of the team really close and makes it important for me to work hard to improve for the team.”While the team was a major motivation, Kennedy says head water polo coach Matthew Flanders also pushed her to her potential through rigorous practice and high expectations.“[Flanders] makes you work hard for compliments and recognizes when people are improving,” Kennedy said. “He appreciates hard work and commitment.”Teammate Sofia Blanco (’15) says Kennedy's kindness, encouragement and talent make her more than just a skillful passer and shooter.“[Kennedy] is always there trying to push us harder,” Blanco said. “She’s a really good player and a beast in the water as well as an all-around nice person. She makes us want to do better to be like her by always being on task and by being an amazing player. To me she’s one of best players we have.”According to goalie Shayna Shnayder (’15), Kennedy has proven herself to be an all-around team player — her buoyant and confident outlook combined with her skill as a perimeter player earns the respect and adoration of her teammates.“[Kennedy] is a great player in and out of the water,” Shnayder said. “She definitely makes the girls want to go out and play hard through her positivity and by making it not only fun, but challenging. She plays with aggression and puts everything she has into the game.”Flanders says Kennedy guides by example, showcasing her sportsmanship and constantly growing to be a more aggressive player."[Kennedy] leads by working hard during the season and off season; she is a great focus player," Flanders said. "She has improved miles over her three years on varsity, and we are looking for great things from her this year."In terms of her improvement, Kennedy says she's most proud of how fast she has gotten in the water, propelling her into a new level of play and bringing her team along with her."Our goals for this season are to win league," Kennedy said. "But since we lost all our seniors, we're pretty much playing a with a new team. It's just another challenge that I know the team has the potential to overcome."