| Julian
Kotylak - Motivated to Win
Julian
Kotylak's love affair with the sport of water polo began on
impulse.
Six years ago
he was walking around a mall in Haney with his family when,
quite by accident, he encountered one of British Columbia's
top water polo coaches sitting at a table he'd set up in the
mall in hopes of drawing some new players into the fast-paced
sport.
Julian went
over to have a look, and his life has never been the same.
"I was walking around the mall with my family, bored. I
saw Justin [Mitchell] at the sign up table and just
impulsively joined," he recalls.
It didn't
take a lot of effort for Mitchell, coach of the dynamic Haney
Neptunes water polo program, to convince Julian to give it a
try. "Before I joined I had never even heard of the
sport," Julian recalls. "I decided to play because I
loved sports and wanted to try a new one."
He still
recalls his first game with the Neptunes. "The first game
I ever played I remember thinking that I was drowning as older
kids attempted to drown me." He quickly shook off those
early jitters, and has since developed into one of Canada's
top young prospects.
Teammates
describe him as dedicated and hard working.
"I love thrill you get when you win the big game, the
fact that it keeps me in shape, and the time I get to spend
with my friends."
Julian, who
formerly played baseball, basketball, soccer and tennis, sees
water polo as "a fast paced thrilling mix of rugby,
swimming and handball." The 16-year-old grade 11 honor
role student at Meadowridge School in Maple Ridge spent three
years as a member of the Pacific Storm program but opted in
fall 2007 to join Mitchell's Fraser Valley team.
"My
personal water polo highlight is last summer when I was with
Team Canada at the Pan American Games and we won the bronze
medal with our 16-year-old team even though it was an
18-and-under tournament.
"My most
memorable game is also at the Pan American Games when we were
playing the USA and every team was there and had taken sides
and were going nuts. "Even though we lost 10-9 it was the
most thrilling game I've ever played as I completely shut down
their hole set when I was in."
Now, he's
hoping to remain with Team Canada, and perhaps get a
university sports scholarship when he finishes high school.
After university, he's interested in a career as either a
dentist or a medical technician. For now, he's motivated by a
keen desire to win a national championship with Fraser Valley.
"The fact that I have now lost all 3 national finals I
have been in makes me train that much harder so that I can
right all of the past wrongs."
He believes
newcomers to the sport will be won over if they just come out
to a game and see the intensity all players bring to it.
"They could just come watch a game between Storm and
Fraser Valley and see the energy and passion that both teams
play with and they would instantly become hooked."
Julian
Kotylak is available for interviews.
Contact:
Cheryl Wilson-Stewart
BC Water Polo - PR
Tel: 604.737.3148
Email: pr@bcwaterpolo.com
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