Gaudreault at top of her game
During the first week of her firstever water-polo experience, Jessica Gaudreault was given the key to her future.
She didn’t ask for it. She wasn’t expecting it. All she was trying to do was pay attention and enjoy the Ottawa Titans Water Polo Club tryout camp.
“David Hart was my first coach. He pulled me from the group and said you’re going to be a goalie. He guided me through that,” said the Mississauga-born Gaudreault, who was shifting her athletic focus to water polo because she didn’t make it as a competitive swimmer.
A legend in Canadian water polo as a player, coach and administrator, Hart immediately saw the raw elements of a goalkeeper, who requires strong legs to explode out of the water and move quickly from side to side.
“It was an instinctive thing. If she wanted to play water polo, she should be a goalkeeper. She had all the qualities to make a tremendous goalie,” said Hart, who directed seven goalkeepers to various Canadian national teams, when he was with the Titans and before switching to the Capital Wave club.
“I asked the kids (including Gaudreault) to try a combination of movements that they don’t normally do. It was the co-ordination I saw in her, her vertical movement and her side-to-side movement. We look for sport intelligence and physical literacy.”
A decade later, Gaudreault could be considered the best women’s water polo goalkeeper in the world based on her past two major international tournaments against many of the best countries.
This spring, Canada won the bronze medal at the FINA Women’s Water Polo World League Intercontinental Preliminary Tournament in Davis, Calif., and the silver medal at the World League Super Final in Shanghai, China.
In both championships, Gaudreault was named the top goalkeeper and was selected to the all-star team for the World League Super Final.
But the humble 5-foot-9 Gaudreault wouldn’t go quite as far as to say she’s the best in the world.
“It’s hard to say. I’m up there with the best goalies,” she said. Hart agreed. “Let’s put it this way. At this stage, she is now moving into the upper echelon,” he explained.
Canadian women’s team assistant coach David Paradelo of Montreal also felt the Indiana University athletic scholarship student has accelerated her game, especially after the disappointment of Canada falling one-goal short of qualifying for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
“I wouldn’t say she’s the best in the world, but she’s definitely looking to be,” said Paradelo, who praised Gaudreault for accepting the team’s new system this season, which sees her direct her blockers with plenty of vocal commands and “keeps the defence on its toes.”
Gaudreault, who turns 23 next month, loved the idea of being a goalkeeper right from the start and playing water polo brought her many positive vibes. She embraced the idea of treading water in the deep end (seven to eight feet) of the pool for a 32-minute game, which could last 90 minutes, and guarding a sprawling three-by-10foot net.
“I never find it that physical, but more mental,” said Gaudreault, who has been with the Canadian junior or senior national team since 2011. “It’s about getting into the shooters’ heads. I love the fivemetre penalty shot. For the goalkeeper, it’s very much a mental game. I have to learn all the tendencies of all the best shooters.”
The Canadian team will play preliminary-round games against Italy, Brazil and China, hoping to qualify for the top eight and learning how to win the all-important quarter-final game, which was its downfall at the 2016 and 2012 Olympic qualifiers.
Hart knows Gaudreault will be ready for the worlds and the future of Canadian women’s water polo. But she must stay healthy.
CAPITAL SPORTS HUB
Cycle-Paths National Capital pro cyclists continue to strike when the timing is right. Competing in the nine-stage Tour de Suisse, Michael Woods of Cannondale-Drapac Pro Cycling Team seriously threatened to win his first WorldTour race before finishing 10th in Stage 6 and was eighth in the mountains classification. Matteo Dal-Cin of Rally Cycling had a first and two third-place finishes at Tour de Beauce before winning the men’s elite road race at home during the Canadian road cycling championships. He crashed with 200 metres left and a possible victory in sight at the 2016 nationals in Ottawa. Ariane Bonhomme of The Cyclery-4iiii was fourth among young riders and the fourth amateur at the North Star Bicycle Festival, while Katherine Maine helped Rally win the team title and was second in the young women’s class. She was third in the women’s elite U23 race at the 2017 Canadian road championships.