Traxler, St. Charles North ready for Waubonsie Valley
St. Charles North's Olivia Traxler spent seven weeks in Los Angeles last summer.
But the senior did not spend her time visiting the numerous tourist spots.
She was mainly in the pool, honing her craft in an intensive training period with the Los Angeles Premier Water Polo Club. She admitted it was difficult being away from her family.
"It was definitely a struggle since I'm close with my family and missed them," Traxler said. "But my team, LA Premier, really took me in and really appreciated them and I learned so much. I really love water polo, so by the end, I didn't want to leave."
Traxler flashed her new-and-improved skills Wednesday, scoring 7 goals to lead the North Stars to a dominating 14-2 win over Waubonsie Valley in Aurora.
Traxler, a field player, added 8 steals to spark the North Stars (2-1), while Jules Engesser added 3 goals and 3 steals.
"We played good defense, played hard and made a lot of counters," Traxler said. "We have one of the fastest teams in awhile. We've been communicating well and everyone was in the right position."
Traxler, a former goalkeeper, also competed in the USA Water Polo National Junior Olympics in San Jose, California, this summer. She didn't return home until July 28 and plans to attend Arizona State and play club water polo. Traxler said her summer in Los Angeles helped her in many facets, in and out of the pool.
"I learned so much during my time in California, and I had amazing coaches," Traxler said. "My IQ level grew so much, and then the physicality helped me and I loved that I could bring it back to my team and see them grow with me."
St. Charles North coach George Mitchell said Traxler is a different player this spring.
"Olivia is significantly better than last year," he said. "In terms of offense, she had a lot of offensive fouls and turnovers last year, just from silly holds and push-offs. She's really cleaned up that play and really able to use her body and set out and create space to put the ball in the back of the net."
Meanwhile, senior goalie Lexi Coakley made sure the Warriors (0-6) rarely found the back of the net. She had an excellent game, deflecting balls and throwing long passes to teammates down the pool that led to goals. She finished with 8 saves and 4 assists.
"Lexi was phenomenal," Mitchell said. "Lexi has a lot of experience, playing well against high-level teams and is great at communicating to her defense. She made some great passes today. We slowed it down at the end to work our motion offense. Lexi was able to make good release passes."
The North Stars host a five-team meet on Saturday, which includes Buffalo Grove, Lockport, St. Charles East and Richards.
"It should be a good meet with a lot of learning and some good competition," Mitchell said.
Rebecca Farber's first-half goal was one of the bright spots for Waubonsie Valley, which has been dealing with injuries and sickness that has slowed their momentum.
"We're just starting getting our full varsity roster in practice going this week," Waubonsie Valley coach Joe Poletto said. "We have a very strong JV and freshmen group that will help build up the program. We also have a talented senior class that has a lot of experience to share with them."