“I was terrified, but I had the absolute
best time ever,” she recalls. “Everyone was
so great and so welcoming.”
She quickly found herself ingrained
in the sport once again, and has since
become one of the sport’s biggest
supporters in the Pittsburgh area.
“Everyone is so friendly and kind, and
we’re all there to do something that we
all enjoy,” she says. “I literally laugh half
of the practice, usually at myself because
I try to do something that I could easily
have done many years before and failed
miserably.”
As a busy mom of three kids with a
husband who frequently travels, staying
in peak physical shape and finding time
to practice can be tough. An avid runner
who’s also training for the New York
City Half Marathon and the Pittsburgh
Marathon, she tries to exercise at least
one hour a day. Depending on pool
availability, the Renegades typically
practice once a week.
“Water polo is physically challenging
and you have to be in great physical shape.
It’s really like basketball in water. You
literally push against another person to
keep position,” she explains. “[But] I am
in no way, shape or form in the physical
condition I was back in college.”
In the past year and a half, Vincent
has seen the team grow exponentially.
One of six team members who work
together to run the team, she handles
communications. The team receives
several tournament invitations each
month, and hosted a large, 12-team
tournament over Labor Day weekend.
They’ve also scrimmaged Pitt a few times.
She tries to make traveling for
tournaments a family affair if possible,
taking her children along with her for the
journey. Her young daughters are starting
to show interest in the sport; her oldest
daughter joined the Peters Township Club
Team a few months ago and her other
two children will be starting swim lessons
soon. All three will swim for the Valley
Brook swim team this summer.
Vincent’s also hoping to launch an
“Intro to Water Polo” course at Valley
Brook. There are numerous opportunities
throughout Pittsburgh for children to play
the sport. North Allegheny offers Noodle
Water Polo, where children learn to play
on a pool noodle, and Peters High School
is building a new pool and is expected
to start a water polo team. Other local
schools, including Chartiers Valley, Mt.
Lebanon and South Park, have all started
youth teams.
“I love it here. I think that the city is
incredibly unique and it has so much
to offer,” Vincent says. “Finding the
Renegades helped me find myself again,
and my health. If I could get just one more
person to share in the love that I have for
this sport, then I would be so happy.”
Anyone looking for more information
about adult or youth water polo
programs can contact Jocelyn at
[email protected]. For
more information about the Pittsburgh
Renegades, including links to the
team’s social media accounts, visit
renegades.4rs.org. ■
PETERS TOWNSHIP
❘
F EB R UA RY / M A R C H 2019
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