Girls Water Polo Co-Captain Mia Wonacott ’24 began her water polo career when she came to Andover as a new Lower. Searching for a spring sport and with a background in swimming, Wonacottt was drawn to water polo for its similarities to swimming. As a co-captain, she now creates an inclusive team environment for Girls Water Polo, prioritizing feedback and support.
As a leader, Wonacott strives to create a welcoming environment on the team. She reflected on her first year playing water polo and strives to excite her teammates to get into the pool every day.
Wonacott said, “For the newer players coming in, especially because a lot of them are just swimmers, and so swimming is a very non-physical, non-contact sport, and water polo is the opposite of that. So, it can be a little daunting at first because there are so many rules to learn, and it’s very different. I just want to make a team environment that’s super fun and just a good time. I want to make sure that even the newer players are excited to learn and excited to play and not be scared to ask questions and reach out because I know that I would have wanted that when I was learning the sport as well.”
Sophia You ’26 emphasized Wonacott’s hands-on approach to leading. Despite battling an injury, You shared that Wonacott still shows up to every team event to cheer on and give feedback to her teammates.
“I think Mia leads the team by example. She’s always in the water. First, she’s always showing and demonstrating to us how to do the moves. Before each meet, she’s always there to tell us that it’s okay no matter what happens as long as we do our best and try new things. Right now Mia’s injured, so she’s not playing with the team, but she still comes to every single practice and is there on the sidelines to cheer us on and help with our technique and coach us,” said You.
Sofia Hatzigiannis ’26 highlighted Wonacott’s reliability and support. On the water, the team can always depend on her skills, and off the water she provides personalized feedback for her teammates.
Hatzigiannis said, “She’s one of the best players on the team, and being part of the team you have to support other people and help them grow as well. She’s given me a lot of personal feedback on how to pass better or what to do in certain situations, like if someone’s defending me or how to play a certain move on offense. She definitely is a key part of the team. She’s part of the starting lineup, and if you need, for example, in a game, if you quickly need to pass to someone or you need to depend on someone to get something done, she’s definitely the person for that.”
You highlighted Wonacott’s ability to keep the team settled in stressful situations. Prior to games, she helps prepare the team physically and mentally.
“Before games, Mia always helps set up a team breakfast, and then at the breakfast, she just talks to everyone, makes sure everybody’s not too nervous. And then on the way, on the bus ride there, she’s very supportive, and if you need to talk to her, she’s there. And then right before the game, she just tells everybody not to worry, and she tells everybody a couple key points for us to remember. So, she just kind of helps us stay grounded and make sure that we have fun and that we’re not too nervous,” said You.
Wonacott shared that a large part of why she’s stuck with Water Polo has been because of the people — specifically her Co-Captain Molly MacKinnon ’24. She noted that her goal is to show her teammates the parts of Water Polo that make her love it so much.
“The people are a huge aspect of why I keep coming back. [With] my Co-Captain Molly, we joined swim together. We came in as new Lowers together, and now we’re co-captains, and we’ve grown a lot as people, and so I really enjoy playing with her. My teammates are just so fun to be around, and like I said before, people coming in and the Seniors that have left, everybody was just super nice, super fun, and welcoming especially when I was new to the sport. Now that people are new and I’m one of the more experienced players, just being able to have open arms [and] letting them experience what I really enjoy about Water Polo,” said Wonacott.
