Power Player: Water Polo's Jessica Steffens

Named First-Team All American as a red-shirt junior, Steffens, ’09, helped take the Cardinal to the final match of the NCAA championship during her senior year. The defender played with Team USA in the 2008 Games, where they earned a silver medal. After sitting out 2010 following shoulder surgery, Steffens surged back in 2011 as part of Team USA's sixth place finish at the FINA World Championships in China. She scored two goals at the 2012 FINA World League Super Final this year. Women's water polo begins preliminary rounds on July 30.

Excerpts:

Having recently seen a photo of Peter Hudnut, '03, MBA '11, without his front teeth, we’re reminded of the violence of your sport. If bowling is a 1 and the NFL is a 10, how violent is water polo?

Those bowling balls could be violent! And NFL kickers hardly get touched . . . so on that note, it would be difficult for me to give a violence rating. Water Polo is a contact sport in which we use positioning, balance and toughness to win one-on-one battles. A lot of the game is based on quickness of the mind and body. Anticipation, awareness . . . all of these qualities are what make this game so fun. And the more you learn and watch, the more interesting it becomes.


The Americans have been the most consistent water polo team at the Olympics, winning the most medals, but not yet gold. How much would it mean to you to take home gold?

Of course we always have [gold] in the back of our minds, but then again you don't have something until you have it. We are extremely proud of our consistency in the sport; this experience has taught us to never underestimate an opponent or ourselves.


How do you prep for the day of the game? Any rituals and routines to get in the zone?

We have our warm up plans, but we try to keep it flexible because at this level, we are always expecting the unexpected. . . . What makes you think I would tell our secrets anyway?


What are your plans post-London?

I always have lots of ideas running through my head, but at this point I am focused on London and whatever comes afterward will come afterward.

There are several sets of Stanford siblings in the Olympics: Kenyan swimmers Jason, '09, MS '12, and David, '10, Dunford, American tennis players Bob and Mike Bryan, both '00, and you and your sister, Maggie, an incoming freshman. How excited is your family? What’s it like to experience all this with your sister? What is the Steffens secret?

Our family is very excited, we have a bunch of extended family members who have been making plans to go to London. Our family has supported and followed our careers since we were competing in the Contra Costa County swim meets 15 or so years ago! While this is really the first team I have been fortunate enough to play on with Maggie, we have been a part of each other's teams forever, as fans, coaches and guest practice players. So this, for us, is the result of many years of anticipation, just hoping we could play on this team together. A Steffens Secret? Well, since many of our Schnugg cousins are amazing athletes in their own rights [read a family history here] I don't think there is any secret at all! Just a common goal to reach for greatness in every area of our lives.