Brenda Villa facts for kids
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Villa at the 2012 ALMA Awards
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| Born | April 18, 1980 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
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| Residence | Commerce, California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 4 in (163 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 174 lb (79 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Brenda Villa (born April 18, 1980) is an amazing American water polo player. She is known as one of the most successful female water polo athletes in the world. FINA Aquatics World Magazine even named her the Female Water Polo Player of the Decade for 2000-2009. Brenda is one of only four women to play water polo in four different Olympic Games. She is also one of only two female athletes to win four Olympic medals in water polo. She scored 31 goals in her Olympic career, making her a top scorer in Olympic water polo history. In 2018, Brenda was honored by being added to the International Swimming Hall of Fame and the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame.
Contents
Brenda's Water Polo Journey
Brenda Villa started swimming with a club team called Commerce Aquatics when she was six years old. She then followed her brother into the sport of water polo at age eight. While in high school, she joined the girls Junior Olympic Team.
High School Years
At Bell Gardens High School, Brenda played water polo with the boys' team. This was because her school did not have a girls' team. She became a top player, earning many awards. She was named 1st team All-League four times. She also received 1st team All-C.I.F. and All-American honors four times.
College Success at Stanford
In 1998, Brenda joined Stanford University as a highly praised recruit for their water polo program. She took a break in 1999 and 2000 to train for the Olympics. When she returned in 2001, she scored 69 goals in her first year. She was named the NCAA Women’s Water Polo Player of the Year. During her three seasons playing for Stanford, Brenda scored an impressive 172 goals.
In 2002, she led her Stanford team to win the NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship. The year before, they had finished second in the first-ever competition. Brenda also received the 2002 Peter J. Cutino Award. This award goes to the best female college water polo player in the United States.
Life After Playing
Brenda Villa stopped playing professionally in 2012. After retiring, she started coaching water polo and swimming. She coached at a private high school for girls.
Olympics and International Play
Brenda has been a part of the U.S. National Women's Water Polo Team since 1998. Even though she was the shortest player on the team at 5'4", she scored many goals in international games.
Qualifying for the Olympics
At the 2003 Pan American Games, Brenda scored 10 goals for Team USA. This helped the team qualify for the 2004 Summer Olympics.
Olympic Medals
- 2000 Sydney Olympics: As a 20-year-old, Brenda led the U.S. team with nine goals. The American team won the silver medal.
- 2004 Athens Olympics: She was the top scorer for the U.S. women's team with 7 goals in 5 games. The team earned a bronze medal.
- 2008 Beijing Olympics: Brenda and the American team played in the championship game. They lost closely to the Netherlands and took home the silver medal.
- 2012 London Olympics: Brenda and the American team won the championship game against Spain. They took home the gold medal, which was the first Olympic gold for U.S. women's water polo.
World Championships and Leagues
Brenda also led the U.S. team to gold at the 2003 FINA Water Polo World Championship. In June 2004, she helped the U.S. team win the gold medal at the Women's Water Polo World League Super Finals. She scored important goals in overtime and a penalty shootout.
In 2005, Brenda was the team captain of the U.S. national team. They won a silver medal at the FINA World Championship in Montreal. In March 2007, Brenda led the USA team to first place at the 2007 FINA World Water Polo Championships in Australia. She scored 11 goals, helping the team become World Champions.
Coaching and Professional Play
In 2005, Brenda became an assistant coach for the women's water polo team at Cerritos College. The team had a great season, setting a new school record for wins. She coached there for five years, helping the team win their only CCCAA State Championship in 2008. Brenda also played professionally for an Italian team called Geymonat Orizzonte in Sicily. This team had won the LEN Women's Champions' Cup in 2005 and 2006. In 2010, she became the head coach for girls' water polo at Castilleja High School in Palo Alto, California.
Brenda's Personal Life
- Brenda's parents moved to the United States from Mexico. She can speak Spanish very well.
- She earned a degree in political science from Stanford in 2003. She was named an All-American three times during her time there.
- Brenda has a small tattoo of the Olympic rings on her right foot. She got it with some of her teammates from the 2000 Olympic Team.
See also
In Spanish: Brenda Villa para niños
