This is an article in Sporty Seniors, a bi-weekly column celebrating M-A senior athletes’ dedication to their sport.
Since her freshman year, senior Sabine Polly has shone as a dual-sport athlete, playing for the girls’ water polo and lacrosse teams.
During her first few weeks at M-A, Polly picked up water polo with encouragement from her mom and friends and, in no time, became a natural.
“Originally, I didn’t know many people in water polo, but my good friend Zoe Gostyla asked me if I was going to do it, and I guess I just decided, ‘Why not give it a try?’” she said.
Polly was initially on JV, but she was pulled up to Varsity by the end of the season to represent M-A in CCS.
Before her water polo career began, Polly was already excelling in another sport: lacrosse. She had been playing in the Firehawks club team clinics throughout middle school, and in eighth grade, she knew she wanted to start taking it more seriously. Since making Varsity her freshman year, Polly’s love for the game has only grown stronger.
During a game against Saint Francis High School her freshman year, Polly scored her first goal. “It was the best moment, everyone kept coming up to me telling me how proud they were, not much else compares,” she explained.
Concluding her freshman lacrosse season, Polly was awarded most improved. “It just felt so good to know other people recognized the work I put in,” Polly said.
After an exciting and successful lacrosse season, Polly was eager to develop her water polo skills to the same level. In 2023, she joined the Stanford Water Polo Club and played two seasons of club water polo to prepare for her junior season at M-A.
An intense senior night battle against Woodside during Polly’s sophomore season remains one of her favorite memories with her team. The Bears barely pulled through, scoring a final goal against the Wildcats and winning. “The energy on the pool deck was just insane. Someone was commenting on the game, and so many people were there to support,” Polly said.
Though each sport is vastly different and comes with its own challenges, one thing remained consistent between both her teams: the friendships that came with hard work and dedication. Polly’s passion for both water polo and lacrosse is deeply rooted in the support and friendships she has built with friends from both teams.
“We were with each other all the time, even if we were not the closest friends, I think we all spent more time together than anyone else,” Polly said.
Fond of the outdoors and looking for a change from M-A, Polly decided to spend her spring semester of junior year at The Mountain School in Vermont. It is a semester boarding school focused on outdoor and environmental education through activities such as farm work, outdoor hikes, and camping.
Initially, Polly wrote off the experience because she would be forced to miss a season with some of her oldest teammates in lacrosse. “I have been on the same team as some of those girls since sixth grade,” she said.
Polly started looking more into the program after feeling stressed due to the repetitive cycle of M-A. “It felt like it was the same thing every day, and I was looking for change,” she said.
Before Polly applied, she reached out to her ceramics teacher, Michael Burton-Tilson, for a recommendation letter. When discussing her concerns about leaving home, he gave her encouraging words of advice.
“Mr. Tilson told me this would be the coolest thing I would ever do, and that I had to just go,” Polly recalled.
Although she missed out on a lacrosse season, “It was the best experience I’ve ever had,” Polly said. Back at home, Polly is looking forward to playing water polo and lacrosse again. She has high hopes for both her teams. Thinking about her final games with her longtime teammates, Polly is feeling bittersweet.
“I’m excited for this season. I love all the girls, and I am going to miss them so much when the season ends,” Polly said.
Along with her teammates, Polly also shares love for her water polo coaches, Lauren Leseyna and JP Nelson. “They are my biggest supporters, they always have higher expectations for me than I do myself, and they push me to be better,” she said.
As her final two seasons of her high school career creep closer, Polly hopes to continue athletics in college. While not expecting to play at the collegiate level, she wishes to play water polo at the club level and keep up her lacrosse skills recreationally.
