Jul 11, 2008

Stanford's Steffens in the middle of Olympic dream

By John Reid / Daily News Staff Writer

Jessica Steffens has a good memory. She can tell you the exact date, time and place she was told she made the U.S. Olympic Team roster.

"It was June 29, Sunday, 7:15 in the morning," said Steffens, a 2-meter defender. "We all had individual meetings with the coach. At first I was shocked. I couldn't even speak to the coaches. I told them, 'I need to get out of here as soon as possible.' When I walked out of the room, I had my moment (to reflect)."

"Jessica has done a fantastic job," USA women's water polo coach Guy Baker said. "She's a tremendously intelligent player. She picks up on things very quickly. She's very competitive. She makes us a better team. That's because she has allowed some of our better offensive players to focus on offense, not as much on defense. We brought her along at a good pace."

Steffens scored 35 goals as a sophomore for Stanford, earning honorable all-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation honors, before redshirting as a junior last season to concentrate on making the USA Team. Steffens received extensive playing time in the USA's 7-5 win over Australia Thursday night in an exhibition at the Avery Aquatic Center.

"That was the normal playing time for Jessica," Baker said. "That wasn't because she was playing in front of her home crowd."

"I wouldn't be on the team if I wasn't going to contribute," Steffens said. "When I go in, I do my job and do the best I can. That's my role."

Despite the U.S. winning the World Championships in Melbourne last year to earn the No. 1 seed going into Beijing, Steffens said the team isn't taking anything for granted. USA was second in 2000 in Sydney and won bronze in Athens in 2004.

"We still have a lot of work to do," said Steffens, who is making her Olympic debut. "We have a couple weeks in the U.S. When we get to China, we still have more training. We're going to take it game by game and see what happens."

Steffens played with the Jr. National Team in 2006.

"I went to the open tryouts and surprised myself," said Steffens, who prepped at Monte Vista High in Danville. "I ended up playing with the Senior Team that summer."

Last summer, Steffens played with the U.S. Senior National Team in the World League Super Final in Montreal and in the Pan-Am Games in Rio de Janeiro.

"That was Jessica's first real, big international experience," Baker said. "She did well off that. She has been excellent during all the residential training."

Steffens joins two other Stanford players on the Olympic Team - Brenda Villa and Alison Gregorka. Villa and Heather Petri, a former player at Cal, are the two veterans on the USA Team.

"Playing with Villa is awesome," Steffens said. "Villa and Petri have been amazing leaders on this team. They have taught us a lot. We have a lot of confidence in them. They have made us the best players we can be."

"Jessica is a great defensive player," Villa said. "She's a great 5-on-6 player. If you can play defense on this team, you can get some minutes. They'll find a spot for you."

Steffens has impressed Australian Olympic coach Greg McFadden.

"Jessica is young, but she has a bright future for the U.S.," McFadden said.

Steffens hopes her future is now. She'll have a chance to show her defensive mettle in Beijing with the whole world watching. That should be something to remember, as well.

"It has been an amazing experience," Steffens said. "It's one I wouldn't trade for the world."



E-mail John Reid at jreid@dailynewsgroup.com.