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Player Spotlight
AMANDA CODY
Illpolo.com's Defensive Player of the Year
Amanda Cody stood out on the defensive end for Sandburg for her entire
career. She rarely allowed any offensive player that she guarded an
opportunity to score and helped the Eagles go 16-1 in the SICA Conference
and 25-2 overall in the regular season this year. She was named to the
All-Illpolo first team at the end of the year and was chosen as our
Defensive Player of the Year in 2005. We asked Amanda the following
questions in an exclusive Illpolo.com interview:
College choices, major, current GPA?
I will be attending Iona College in New Rochelle, NY to play water polo
and swim. I will be majoring in Biology with the intent of entering
Forensic Sciences. My current GPA is 3.65.
Experience, Club Team, Zone Teams, Off-season work?
In the offseason/summer, I play for POW
(Palos-Orland Water Polo). POW is a club team run through Sandburg that
keeps us in shape for the upcoming season. We practice everyday and enter
a few tournaments over the summer. I also play for the Chicago Park
District Team during the winter, before the high school season starts.
When did you start? How? Where?
I started water polo as a freshmen. I had
never played or even seen a water polo game before that year, so it was a
completely new experience for me. My dad taught me the basic skills before
season started, so I had some idea of what I was doing. I made the Varsity
team, but played mainly JV so I could get as much experience as I could; I
would also play in Varsity tournaments that year. My freshmen year, we
made it to the state tournament and that helped give me a great deal of
experience, and we've worked hard as a team since then to try and get back
to that tournament.
Amanda started swimming when she was eight years old. As a ten year
old, she won the 100 Backstroke at the Junior Olympics and also placed in
the top six in five other events. She currently hold twenty-seven
age-group records at POSA (Palos-Orland Swimming Association) along with
five high school records. She has qualified for the IHSA State Meet in
various events in all four years of her high school career, while also
earning seven All-American awards in high school swimming.
Awards and achievements?
I made the All-Sectional team last year as a junior and All-Conference so far this year. Amanda was also named to the All-Sectional team in 2005 and was a second team All-State selection. She was named to the All-Illpolo first team and was our selection as Defensive Player of the Year in 2005.
Personal interests? Music? TV shows?
My favorite TV show is Alias. I like watching
movies and hanging out with my friends in my free time.
Goals for the future with polo? School? Life?
My future goals for water polo are to help
Iona win the MAAC conference and help to get as far as possible in the
NCAA championships.
Motivation, inspiration?
My motivation mainly comes from my teammates.
At the beginning of the season we made a pact to go as far as we possibly
could and to push each other everyday along the way, and I've really tried
to stick to that. Something we focus on is taking one thing at a time. We
try not to get ahead of ourselves and just focus on one game or one
quarter at a time.
First Season role?
The Sandburg team made it to state my freshman year where I scored two goals in the preliminary round.
Soph, Junior Year role?
Amanda has started on the varsity squad since sophomore year and was the second leading scorer for the past two seasons. She has lead the team with the most steals, the most assists and the most kickouts drawn in the last three years as well. She made the all-sectional team last year as a junior as well as honorable mention All-State.
Other comments/Things to Know?
I was taught defense first and the offense will follow. I also believe
that the pass that makes the score is sometimes better then scoring
itself. I think my best asset is my defense; I love to go from two-to-two
and help at both ends.
