Emmie Ramirez
El Segundo, Senior
Over the past four years, El Segundo girls water polo coach Nila Ward had a front row seat to watch Emmie Ramirez break school records and establish herself as one of the program's all-time top players.
“Emmie is a really special player,” Ward said. “I don't know if I've seen a high school water polo player that dynamic before.”
Ramirez, a senior, has been chosen the Daily Breeze Girls Water Polo Player of the Year.
She will head north to play at Cal in the fall after setting eight school records at El Segundo, including most goals in a game (13) and most goals in a career (439). She also holds the record for most goals in a season (143), most points in a career (580), career hat tricks (71) and is top-four in career assists.
“Emmie is small in stature but unguardable,” Ward said. “Every team we played tabbed her as the one to focus on and still she could not be shut down.”
Ramirez's love for the water dates back to when her parents enrolled her in swimming classes for water safety at a young age, only to blossom into a well-rounded swimmer.
“I was always trying to get better and be the best,” Ramirez said. “Water polo really transformed those skills and when I play, it feels natural to me.”
Ramirez enjoys the physical aspect of the sport.
“It's interesting that you can move someone else to get yourself in a position,” she said, “and you have to think paces ahead of what's going to happen to execute at the right time with the right technique. There's a scratch in my brain and when I play water polo, it scratches it just right.”
Ramirez said the school records she set at El Segundo are meaningful, but it means more to her that she helped the program reestablish itself as a contender in CIF-Southern
Section Division 1.
“In the 1970s and 80s, El Segundo was a top aquatic program,” Ramirez said. “My legacy was helping establish El Segundo back into the running of a Division 1 team.”
Ramirez played a critical role in the Eagles winning the 2022 CIFSS Division 4 title during her sophomore year. It was the Eagles' first title in 15 years.
Ward recalls how relentless Ramirez was on that championship run.
“She scored 30 goals in five games, including six in the final,” Ward said. “She has an incredible ability to put the ball in the back of the cage and has a great understanding of how to create plays and openings. She is unfazed by how big the stage is and just plays consistently dominant.”
After winning the CIF-SS title, El Segundo advanced to the CIF SoCal Regional playoffs and reached the Division II title game while playing against top teams.
“It was a big feat to show we didn't belong in Division 4,” Ramirez said. “It helped establish us as a Division 1 school again.”
This season Ramirez was shut down until December after playing the majority of her junior season with a hyper-extended elbow.
Still, her goals were geared toward the team, not individual success.
`“I wanted to maintain a good mindset coming off my injury, and our team had one of the best mindsets we've had in a while,” she said.
Each of the last two seasons, El Segundo had its season ended by Dos Pueblos in the opening round of the Division 1 playoffs.
The collective tears that followed postgame weren't due to disappointment in the loss. Ramirez described them as tears of sorrow.
“Those tears were for the seniors that are leaving,” Ramirez said. “It was a somber ending. It would have been nice to win, but it was great to play our last game as a team.”