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Rempalski makes debut

Jana Rempalski made her water polo coaching debut March 5.

Rempalski, a 2000 graduate of Fallbrook High School, is currently a graduate student at Syracuse University, where she is pursuing a Master’s degree in higher education. She is the head coach of both the men’s and women’s club water polo teams at Syracuse.

“I would have never guessed that I would be coaching,” Rempalski said. “Right out of college you don’t have much coaching experience.”

Rempalski played collegiate water polo for the University of Redlands, from which she graduated in 2004. She closed out her college playing career in May 2004 when Redlands won the NCAA Division III national championship. Rempalski was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

Rempalski works as a resident director at one of the Syracuse University residence halls. The captain of the Syracuse club is from Santa Barbara, and after she read a mini-biography of Rempalski she asked if Rempalski could help out the team.

Because water polo is a club sport at Syracuse, the fact that Rempalski has exhausted her NCAA eligibility would not prevent her from playing, and since she is a student at the university she is eligible to play on the College Water Polo Association club team. Rempalski attended the water polo club meetings, and the captain had asked Rempalski if she would be willing to serve as the head coach. “It just seemed better for me to coach instead of play,” she said. “I’m not so sure that it would be as competitive as I’m used to, but I sure do enjoy coaching and sharing my experiences with others.”

Coaching fits in better with her position as a resident director. “I am an administrator,” Rempalski said. “It’s easier for me to be in that coaching role.”

The women’s water polo club has been practicing since fall and opened the 2005 season with a tournament at SUNY Geneseo March 5-6. Not only did the club play three matches on the first day, but with the two-hour drive between Syracuse and Geneseo the team left at approximately 6:00 a.m. and returned at approximately 11:00 p.m.

“The girls were wracked by the third game,” Rempalski said.

Syracuse opened the tournament with wins over Columbia and SUNY Geneseo, but the final game on the first day was a two-goal loss to Cornell. The following day the Syracuse club played its final game of the tournament and lost by three goals to Colgate, giving the club a 2-2 record for the tournament.

“So far so good, I guess,” Rempalski said.

In addition to playing at Fallbrook High School and the University of Redlands, Rempalski also played club water polo with the Shores team. One of her Shores teammates was Brittany Russell, who played at La Jolla High School and UC Davis before her 2004 college graduation. Russell’s brother, who Rempalski had not previously met, is the coach at Cornell. “It’s nice to have some other Californians out in New York,” Rempalski said.

Rempalski was impressed with the respect she received as a coach. “They’re so responsive to everything that I had to say,” she said.

One of Rempalski’s former coaches told her that she had been hard to coach. “Now I have a new perspective,” she said.

The Syracuse women play in the Central New York League, and their season runs through May. “I’m hopefully building up a good team,” Rempalski said.

 

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