While Greece has the three Plevritou sisters en route to Paris 2024, United States of America has the possibility of a triple family outing with the Woodhead siblings — brothers Dylan and Quinn and sister Ella — all in the mix for an airline ticket to Paris and a date with destiny.
Scoring Goals wanted to find out the psychology behind the trio who all attended the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan last July-August.
Their pathways are different with Dylan Woodhead well-ensconced in the men’s line-up while Quinn Woodhead was drafted into the Fukuoka team through a team-mate being injured. Ella Woodhead grasped her chance, but had to sit out the recent Pan Am Games as her brothers both travelled to Chile, winning gold medals and earning Olympic Games qualification.
We put the same questions to all three to find out what makes them tick and their motivation ahead of the possibility of all three being together again, this time at an Olympic Games.
Ella Woodhead
What attracted you into the game?
At a young age I was drawn to water polo because of my love of swimming, the camaraderie of the team sport, and the physicality of the game. I always loved spending time outside in the pool during the summer and water polo allowed me to do this while spending time with friends. The girls who I started water polo with and ultimately grew up alongside, made me excited to come to practice every day and empowered me to push myself in the sport. As I continue to play, I am drawn to the tactical strategy, teamwork, and physicality required to compete at a high level.
When did you get into the game and where?
I started playing water polo when I was eight years old at Sleepy Hollow Aquatics or SHAQ in San Anselmo, California. I grew up swimming and after watching my brothers’ games for a few years I was excited to start water polo. SHAQ and the whole community made it easy to fall in love with the sport.
What attributes do you bring to the sport?
Intelligence, intensity, focus, enthusiasm, and effort. I may not always be the most talented player in the pool, but I think these attributes have helped me find success and earn opportunities throughout my career.
When did someone recognise you could go further in the sport?
I am lucky to have had so many impactful coaches in my career. As each of them inspired me to be my best in and out of the pool, they made me feel empowered to test my limits in the sport. Having coaches who believed in my potential made me recognise that I could excel in water polo.
What was your trajectory to Fukuoka 2023?
I started training with the senior team in mid-May of 2023 just after the end of my college season. I competed in a three-match series against Greece in June before moving down to Long Beach for full-time training in preparation for the World Cup and World Championships. I unfortunately missed out on the roster for the World Cup tournament in Long Beach at the end of June, but was thrilled to be named to the roster for Fukuoka in July. Fukuoka was my first senior world championships and it was an extremely valuable experience in and out of the pool.
What was your reaction about Pan Am non-selection?
I’m obviously disappointed that I did not represent USA at the Pan American Games, especially given that it was an important qualification tournament for Paris.
How does this define your enthusiasm for Paris 2024?
It was disappointing to miss out on our team’s second chance to qualify for Paris 2024. As our team prepares to compete in the Olympics, I am excited to push the limits of my potential in and out of the pool as I train alongside some of the best players in our sport. I am enthusiastic to have an impact on Paris 2024, whether it is directly, by competing on the team, or indirectly, by helping prepare the team to perform its best at the Olympic Games.
Career Highlights:
2018 Development national team
2019 Cadet national team
2019 Youth futures travel team to Budapest, Hungary
2021 Youth national team
2022 Won bronze at the FINA Intercontinental Cup in Lima, Peru
2022 Won gold at the FINA Youth World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia
2022 Won bronze at the 2022 FINA World League Super Final in Tenerife, Spain
2023 Finished 5th at the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan
2023 Finished 5th at the World Aquatics Junior Women’s Championships in Coimbra, Portugal
Dylan Woodhead
What attracted you into the game?
I was largely attracted to the game because of the community and family that surrounded the start of my water polo experience. I grew up a swimmer and a baseball player, which made the transition relatively easy, and I started when I was 11. I started the sport with some of my best friends; a group that immediately expanded with my new team-mates, people who were kind and welcoming and would become my lifelong friends.
The community supporting my first club team, Sleepy Hollow Aquatics, was also incredibly vital in growing my love for the game. Loving the sport of water polo helps, but being surrounded by a community that was down to earth, filled with love for its youth, and brimming with role models, both in parents, coaches, and older players, made it easy to go to practice as much as I did. I also love the fact that I could play alongside my brother, something that I couldn’t do in some other sports like basketball and swimming.
What attributes do you bring to the sport?
I love the physicality of the sport. I love the intelligence and decision-making it demands. I love the team aspect of water polo; supporting, setting up, working for the other guys on your squad. A coach I had growing up would say you can only control two things — your attitude and your effort — and that’s what I try to bring every day.
When did someone recognise you could go further in the sport?
My focus as an age group player was to work hard in the pool and classroom and try to go to the best university I could. However, I started to open my eyes to the greater water polo world when I made my first age group national team in 2015. I grew up watching the Olympics as a swimming fan and from then on, I started putting the goal of the Games in my mind. From that point on, I gained a little confidence and was blessed with some more opportunities that helped me grow as a player.
What was your trajectory to Fukuoka 2023?
Fukuoka 2023 was my second time competing at a world championships with Team USA and arguably was the tournament where we had the best shot to medal (within my time window on the team). As a result, we set our goal of a high finish and went into the tournament focused. Unfortunately, we didn’t perform as well as we hoped to and needed to in order to medal, but we know these challenges and setbacks will only make us stronger if we choose to use them as fuel for the fire.
What was your joy about Pan Am selection?
I was very proud to represent my country at the Pan American Games. It was my first Pan Ams and I felt lucky and confident to be competing with the team-mates I have.
How does this define your enthusiasm for Paris 2024?
I feel grateful to be a part of the qualification process for Paris 2024. In the last cycle, I was not a part of the team that clinched gold in Lima, and I was happy to work hard and earn the gold this year. Qualification behind us, the whole team is now focused on the Olympic Games.
Career Highlights:
2014 PAC Zone B Team
2015 Cadet team
2016 Finished 10th at the FINA Youth Championships, Podgorica, Montenegro
2017 Finished 8th at the FINA Junior Championships, Belgrade, Serbia
2018 Finished 6th at FINA World Cup, Berlin, Germany
2019 FINA World Championships, Budapest, Hungary, alternate
2021 Finished 6th at the Olympic Games, Tokyo, Japan
2022 Finished 6th at the FINA World Championships, Budapest, Hungary
2022 Won silver at the FINA World League Super Final, Strasbourg, France
2023 Won bronze at the World Aquatics World Cup, Los Angeles, USA
2023 Finished 7th at the World Aquatics Championships, Fukuoka, Japan
2023 Won gold at Pan American Games, Santiago, Chile
Quinn Woodhead
What attracted you into the game?
We played a lot of sports growing up, but what attracted me to water polo was seeing that it could combine a variety of different skills. It took my love for swimming and combined it with the ball skills needed for baseball and basketball. Also, my best friends played it, so it was a great way to spend more time with them.
When did you get into the game (age) and where?
I got into water polo when I was about nine years old in San Anselmo. I started playing splashball with a group of guys who ended up being my best friends and team-mates until I left for college, and some even became my college team-mates.
What attributes do you bring to the sport?
Attitude, energy, and a strong work ethic.
When did someone recognise you could go further in the sport?
After my sophomore year of high school, I realised that I had a shot at going further in the sport. This was around the time when I started making younger national team rosters and set my sights on attending Stanford while continuing to play water polo.
What was your trajectory to Fukuoka 2023?
This was my first summer attending full-time training with the senior national team, and I was very happy to have this extended training period. I had plenty of days to improve my technical skills, master the system, and build connections with my team-mates. I felt that I made significant improvements as a player during this time. In the end, I was still on the outside of the final roster. I continued to attend practice, and when a team-mate unfortunately got injured, I was there to join the roster.
What was your joy about Pan Am selection?
I was very excited to represent Team USA at the Pan-American Games, as it is always an honour to represent my country. Also, I was excited to have more time to train and compete with my team. I leave every training camp and tournament feeling more confident and comfortable in our system.
How does this define your enthusiasm for Paris 2024?
For me, there isn't much excitement or enthusiasm quite yet. There is a lot of work to do before Paris, and my focus is solely on my training every day and trying to improve as much as I can.
Career Highlights:
2016 Won silver at the Junior Pan-American Games in Edmonton, Canada
2017 Won gold at the Youth Pan-American Games in Lima, Peru
2018 Finished 9th at the FINA Youth World Championships in Szombathely, Hungary
2019 Won silver at the World University Games in Naples, Italy
2019 Finished 7th at the FINA Junior World Championships in Kuwait City, Kuwait
2022 Won gold at the FINA Intercontinental Cup in Lima, Peru
2023 Won bronze at World Aquatics World Cup in Los Angeles, USA
2023 Finished 7th in the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan
2023 Won gold at Pan American Games, Santiago, Chile