“Having the will to win and not being OK with being just average is the key to becoming an elite athlete said Pepperdine men’s water polo Head Coach Jack Kocur. For JP MacDonell, a four-year Pepperdine water polo player and 2010 graduate, playing at Pepperdine helped to lay the foundation for his journey to becoming an elite athlete.
MacDonell is currently playing professionally in Italy for Sporting Club Quinto and was one of 30 select players to train with the US National Team last summer before the 2010 World Cup.
It was his time at Pepperdine that allowed MacDonell to hone his skills for his future endeavors.
Pepperdine water polo was a growing experience as much as anything he said. In my four years I was on a team that finished last place in our division my freshman year to a team that finished second place in the National ranks MacDonell said.
But MacDonell wasn’t the only person who is grateful for his time at Pepperine. Kocur also praised MacDonell’s contribution to the Pepperdine squad.
He was a great leader both in and out of the water Kocur said. He was the person we went to when we needed a game-changing moment.”
Kocur also attributed MacDonell’s excellent character to his current success on the world stage saying “His kind of character is what makes great players.”
Kocur knew that MacDonell was a special player when he began recruiting him in 2006 . Kocur explains that he saw him playing in Florida against players both older and bigger than he was yet still controlling the game.
“That’s when I could see that he had the X-factor Kocur said.
MacDonell hopes to be playing for the National Team in the Volvo Cup in Hungary this year after playing in the tournament with them previously in 2008 and 2009.
For the Volvo Cup the coaches like to bring up some younger players to see how they play and give them an opportunity to prove themselves MacDonell explained. This February will be a big Volvo Cup for me. If I’m selected it will be the third I’ve played in and it will be my time to step it up and make some power moves on the team.”
MacDonell almost made the National Team’s World Cup squad last year making it all the way to the final cut. While he trained with the team he was able to play in two exhibition games in Southern California with Pepperdine’s squad.
“It was great to represent Pepperdine water polo while [also] representing the Unites States he said.
MacDonell believes that he can use his past experience with the National Team to make a good run at making the team for future World Cups. And even though he is currently playing at one of the highest levels in the world, MacDonell remembers his time at Pepperdine for really shaping him as a player.
Whatever team I play for on a given day when we huddle prior to the match my first thought when we put our hands in the middle still is ‘waves on three!'”