Trenton Calder I
t’s finally here, Trenton Calder looked confidently into each of his teammate’s eyes. He knew right from the start this day was going to be special. Everything Calder had put himself through up to this point was about to pay off. All the swimming, miserable workouts and missed parties earned him an opportunity to compete in the biggest game of his life: the 2007 NCAA Men’s Water Polo Championship. Fans slowly gathered at the Avery Aquatic Center at Stanford University for a highly anticipated matchup between the nation’s top two water polo programs: the University of California Berkeley and the University of Southern California. For Calder and the Cal team, the sound of the pool splashing back and forth combined with the clapping and hollering of thousands of energetic spectators made for the perfect environment. Finally, as the team gathered in silence for prayer, the game was ready to begin. –––– Soccer, baseball and hockey were Calder’s favorite sports until he got into high school. As a freshman living in Chino Hills, CA, Calder found another passion when his sister, a swimmer, got him into the pool to try out this new sport. Calder’s strengths matched perfectly with the necessary skills for water polo. His talent as a swimmer combined with a strong arm from baseball gave Calder an advantage over his peers. He was “a duck to water.” But he wasn’t planning on sticking to the sport for very long. For Calder, water polo was simply an escape from high school PE, giving him a way to avoid this requirement for the two years he needed. It all changed when Calder tried out for the national team the summer after his freshman year. “Congratulations, you’ve made this team, and you’ve basically punched your ticket into college,” a coach said. That’s when Calder realized water polo had the potential to take him places he had never imagined. For the next four years, Calder played water polo for both school and his club team. Having an immediate impact as a freshman on the varsity team, Calder’s first season
After trying out a new sport as a freshman in high school, head coach Trenton Calder found himself playing a lead role on a championship collegiate team just six years later.
was a success, earning him the status of the team’s Most Improved Player. From there, the accolades poured in while he played center. MVP, scoring leader, First Team All-League All-American, and a league championship to top it off. On the club scene, college recruitment became a new focus in Calder’s athletic career as he played in bigger tournaments. At the time, Calder’s sister was swimming at the University of California, Berkeley, and she alerted the head coach of her brother’s status. Calder thrived under the pressure, winning the championship in a newlycreated event and being voted MVP. He attracted the attention of a variety of schools, but Cal, Pepperdine and UCLA stood out. “The coaching staff and the players as well as the education is what made Cal win for me,” Calder said. “It was the best decision I’ve ever made. Everything about it was the best.” Calder had even more success at the collegiate level. During a transitional period in the gain and loss of players on the team, winning a championship wouldn’t come easy. “Coming to Cal, the expectation was, ‘We’re going to get a national championship in our four years here,’” Calder said. “So that thought of ‘Can we beat any team?’ was already in our heads. We already knew ‘we’re gonna beat everybody, now we just have to go out and do it.’” At one point, Calder had to have hip surgery, forcing him to change positions from center to defender. This didn’t stop him. Calder enjoyed his new position and had great success with it as well. –––– Two days before the game of Calder’s life, the team left for Stanford. It was good for him to see the other teams, judge the competition and anticipate the next day’s results. Back at the hotel later that night, the team went over their game plans. The atmosphere was tense. Everyone was excited the wait was over. Everything they had put themselves through, everything they hated to do, would finally pay off. Game day was no different. The morning started off with a workout routine, and
Story Luke Nayfa, Will Pechersky, Nikhil Dattatreya Photos Jerry Zhao, Courtesy Trenton Calder
16 Focus
everything was running smoothly. Everyone was smiling and nodding, thinking, “We’re gonna kick some ass today.” It didn’t matter what went wrong because the team would make up for it; they would compensate. Taking in the arena, the empty stands and the quiet ambience, Calder knew the atmosphere would be completely different just a few short hours later. And just like that, he was there, waiting anxiously for the game to start. The stands started to fill up. The music was blaring. The team was getting hyped up. As the crowd quieted down, the players waited steadily. Then the ball dropped. The team made plenty of mistakes, some missed shots here, poor defense there. But the team didn’t fall apart; someone would always be there, ready to compensate for a mistake made. Then came the end of the game. Cal was up by two, and during a crucial timeout, the team planned their next play for Calder. They called it “Banana.” Standard rotation, but using a pick in a 6-on-5 advantage situation, Calder’s team added their unique twist. The play worked perfectly every time the team had run it during the regular season, and they were sure it would work out this time. The same play ended up winning them the game. With only seconds left on the clock, the crowd went berserk, full of band members, parents and alumni who came to watch the final game. “The atmosphere was super hostile, and everybody was yelling,” Calder said. “It was awesome.” Calder spent the rest of the day with the team, reveling in their exceptional performance at the highest level. For him, the national championship was the end goal. All of his sacrifice, nearly eight years of practice and grind, finally made sense. “Win or lose,” Calder said, “I would do it all again, just to have this opportunity right now. It’s all worth it, just to be here, let alone win.”
All that time, all that energy sacrificed — all of that makes sense when you finally get to the pinnacle.
