After confronting numerous breakaways and point-blank shots, and stopping many of them, Riverside Brookfield High School senior girls water polo goalie Edie Hamilton is feeling decisive.
“Prior to playing polo, I was kind of wishy-washy as a person. I’d try something, wouldn’t really stick with it,” Hamilton said. “How I’ve grown most while playing polo is just the whole work ethic and also the physical aspect of it, too. Just trying to train as hard as I possibly can and trying to always get better with technique.”
Hamilton entered high school with no aspirations of playing sports. She’s quickly become one of the top goalies around and intends to continue playing at Carthage College (Kenosha, Wisconsin).
And she continues working on being bolder. Even facing shots at practice by the likes of senior leading scorer Priscilla Gil (28 goals) can get intimidating.
“It can be a little scary in games. That first hit off the head and you’re really fine. It doesn’t get that much scarier after that,” she said. “It’s part of the game. I expect it, honestly. It’s a good game if it doesn’t happen.”
Hamilton has had many good games. This season, she averages 14.4 saves per match for the Bulldogs (3-13) with a .610 save percentage.
In 2023, her first varsity season for then new head coach Amy Frey, Hamilton averaged 9.9 saves with a .505 save percentage. She also received her greatest compliment so far.
Hamilton was named second-team All-York Sectional even though RBHS lost its sectional opener and finished the season with three victories.
“I was kind of bewildered. That’s my name up there? It was just kind of unbelievable,” Hamilton said. “Less than two years prior to that, I had never thought I would do anything related to athletics or sports so actually achieving something of that nature was really cool. I was honestly just kind of shocked.”
Hamilton made her water polo debut with the 2022 junior varsity and current varsity teammates like senior Lorelei Leimberer and junior Liv Dobbe, now the Bulldogs’ primary defender. Hamilton played one varsity match because of an absence.
“The growth that Edie has made is incredible,” Dobbe said. “One of the best things about her is I can do my job to my fullest but even when I mess up, I know Edie’s got my back. She talks to us a lot in the pool. Now I know where I need to be positioned thanks to her. That’s cool.”
COVID-19 concerns limited all spring sports in 2021. As a sophomore, Hamilton was “dragged” to water polo practice by fellow senior teammate Madelyn Monroy.
Hamilton loved swimming as a kid, especially at her uncle’s in-ground pool, but never competed. Now water polo?
“The first week was hard,” she said. “I think that the fun and the enjoyment definitely outweighed the rigor and physical part of it.”
Previous head coach Todd Fridrych quickly noticed Hamilton’s strong arm and suggested she play goalie. It was the first time Hamilton minded a net since AYSO youth soccer.
She quickly became hooked. At a JV home tournament, the Bulldogs lost their first two matches but went to sudden-death overtime for the third. With the game on the line, Hamilton blocked a shot. The Bulldogs soon rebounded to score the game winner.
“Everyone was going crazy and it was just super-memorable,” Hamilton said. “That was a great feeling, from a team perspective, too. We were all freaking out.”
Hamilton has continued improving through off-season training with Lyons Aquatics, with RBHS boys coach Kevin Wolak, and studying game footage, such as the U.S. Olympic Team.
During practices, Frey sometimes separates Hamilton from the field players for more specialized drills.
“I’m doing a treading or strength-training set whereas they would be doing more endurance or stamina-based stuff,” she said. “When you train for goalie, it’s all legs. It’s legs and weight training and treading, all of that.”
She plans to study biology and eventually pre-med and has become interested in dermatology through treating her own skin.
For Hamilton, Carthage was an easy decision.
“It’s a beautiful school,” she said. “Definitely academically [water polo has helped me], especially because they’re so connected, at least in my brain. With that work ethic, it’s kind of helped with me, too, with self-esteem. I’m more sure of myself than I was two, three years ago.”
