Brenda Villa
Tim Cates catches up with 4x Olympic medalist and Hall of Famer Brenda Villa about her journey from LA to Palo Alto to representing the United States in four different Summer Olympics. Brenda is the most decorated player in the history of women's water polo. She is now the head girls water polo coach at Orange Lutheran High School and a student in the MCAA program at Concordia University Irvine.
Topics Discussed
- Stanford University Decorated Athlete
- Director of Aquatics: Head Coach Girls Water Polo, Administration for Boys Water Polo, Assistant with all swimming programs
- Jump started in Water Polo because of access and availability
- Played Co-Ed at 10 and 12 years old and then again in High School
- In 8th grade Summer she was featured in Sports Illustrated and received a note from a Stanford University Alumni and Olympian
- On National Team when it was announced that Water Polo is an olympic sport as a 17-18 year old
- Passion was developed through implementing water safety into communities
- As a player I needed a strong connection with my coaches to compete well
- Building Culture must set rules and non-negotiables
- Coaches should show who they are and the human side of their coach
- Master’s in Coaching program provides the opportunity to develop the relationship
- Got into MCAA through an Alumni who pushed me to be better and continue learning