Canadian couplet

With almost half of the team hailing from the Golden State, an area known for its water polo prowess, spectators might sit poolside at an IU practice and wonder which Hoosiers are from California.\nHowever, water polo enthusiasts would be hard-pressed to know the two women with the No. 8 and 9 caps traveled across international borders to be a part of the IU team.\nSenior Brooke Zimmerman and freshman Kelsey Campbell, both Canadian, explained playing a sport on a competitive collegiate level is only a part of the challenge the two women face.\n“I was nervous at first coming to IU and adapting to an entirely different country,” Campbell said. “But the girls on the team are so nice that I started to feel at home right away.”\nIU coach Barry King said skill has never been an issue in regard to his Canadian athletes. \n“All of the kids that have played for me have played on a national team on some level, so they have seen plenty of good competition,” he said. “Believe me, experience-wise it isn’t a problem.”\nCampbell is from Maple Ridge, British Columbia, and was a two-time British Columbia Water Polo Player of the Year. She was also a member of the Canadian Youth National Team for three years.\nDue to age restrictions, Campbell could not play on the junior Canadian team, but the freshman has never been short when it comes to an impressive resume. One of the top five scorers at the 2005 Youth Pan American Games in Mexico City, Campbell led the Pacific Storm club team to Canadian National Championships for four straight seasons. \nCampbell said she is fortunate to have a role model to help her and remind her she is not alone. \n“She (Zimmerman) is definitely someone I look up to because we’ve been through the same stuff,” Campbell said. “If I ever have any questions, I know she can help because she has been through it already.”\nZimmerman, a Calgary, Alberta, native, said water polo is still a “growing sport” in Canada and opportunities are sometimes difficult to find.\n“Water polo has been more widespread since the Canadian women have been in the Olympics,” Zimmerman said. “It’s tough because if you want to have any sort of competition, you have to travel abroad.”\nZimmerman was a member of the Canadian Junior Women’s National Team that took home the gold medal in 2002, the silver at the Pan Am Games that same year and the gold at the World Championships in 2003. Zimmerman teamed up with former Hoosier Kristin Zernicke on the Canadian Junior Team in its medal spree.\n“The presence of Canadians on the IU Water Polo team began with Kristy Streefkerk, who played from 2001-2004,” Zimmerman said. “Then Kristin Zernicke and Janis Pardy followed, then me; and now Kelsey is a part of the tradition, too.”\nKing remembers conversations with Streefkerk about her plans to have players continue to come to IU.\n“When Kristi was playing for me, she’d say, ‘I have a friend, and she’s interested in coming to the states, and now I laugh,” King said. “Kristi was the first Canadian I had, and really every other one after her has been because of reference basically.”\nZimmerman also feels that the Streefkerk began what will be a lifelong pattern for the IU team.\n“These women from the past started a trend,” Zimmerman said. “It’s so nice for me to see Kelsey here because hopefully she will start recruiting so there will always be a Canadian on the team.”\nCampbell attended the University of British Columbia for a year before coming to IU.\n“College and college sports are not like they are here in the United States, and there are really only three major universities where I am from,” Campbell said. “So after I heard such great things about IU and decided I maybe wanted to come here, I had to make the initial contact.”\nTraveling back and forth to go home for the holidays isn’t always feasible for the women, and U.S. customs have taken time to adjust, too. But Zimmerman and Campbell are nothing but satisfied with their decisions to come to IU.\n“It’s not the same at home. Most people stay unless they receive a scholarship, because an education here is so much more expensive,” Zimmerman explained. “I think it’s great that I can experience all of this. It’s a good opportunity that I can take advantage of because I can play water polo.”\nKing said the biggest adjustment for the players is going to school and training full-time.\n“There isn’t a lot of that in Canada; you’re either doing one or the other, so it’s the combination of the two that is usually the biggest adjustment,” King said, “and they are usually well-prepared academically, as well. They’ve all been terrific students.”\nIn regard to the ongoing trend of Canadian players choosing IU as their home in the U.S., King can only smile.\n“I sort of hope the tradition continues,” King said. “They keep turning out to be very solid players, so we will always be willing to look at Canadian student-athletes because we’ve had nothing but great experiences with them.”