New Trier girls water polo coach Matt Wendt said he first used the word fervor in a pregame speech before the team’s 2015 senior night game versus Naperville North.
Just over a year later, the word comes up regularly thanks to junior center defender Sarah Caywood. For her, the word is a bit of a rallying cry and a description of her playing style.
“I talked about playing with fervor and read off a couple adjectives like intensity and zeal,” Wendt said. “(Caywood) always throws that speech back at me. It resonated with her. But she is passionate and intense and gives her all every game. She has fervor.”
Caywood, whose role calls for her to battle the opponent’s best center (hole set) and drive forward looking for opportunities to unleash her strong shot, said she takes pride in playing with a certain level of intensity.
“Fervor is the word,” Caywood said. “I think it’s the best way to set the mood and lead by example. I love to go into every game and start off with a bang. You have to go into every game excited and with high intensity. It sets the tone for the team and yourself.”
Thanks in part to Caywood’s play, the Trevians (27-7) advanced to this weekend’s eight-team state tournament in Lincolnshire. New Trier, which defeated Evanston 5-3 in the Glenbrook South Sectional final on Saturday, May 14, opens quarterfinal play at 7 p.m. Friday, May 20, against Fenwick.
Last season, New Trier was the runner-up in state, the highest finish in the program’s history.
“Our mentality is that we want to win the whole thing, improve where we were last year,” Caywood said. “We have a great team and I know we have the potential to beat anybody.”
Senior center Lauren Barrett, a California signee, is the Trevians’ top performer. Her presence also is key to Caywood’s success. With defenders focusing on Barrett, Caywood reguarly ends up getting open looks at goal.
“I train with (Barrett) in the offseason and get to compete against her in practice,” Caywood said. “I consider her the best center in the state and it’s a huge honor and privilege to play against her. Knowing I can defend someone like her, who is so strong and so accomplished, gives me the confidence that no matter who I guard (in a game), I can take care of them.”
It was Barrett who recommended throwing coach John Stutz to Caywood. Stutz is affiliated with North Shore Baseball Academy and has branched out into water polo instruction. Caywood said working with Stutz has done wonders for her shot.
“(Stutz) is excellent,” Caywood said. “Last year, I had a whip shot, a wrap around, which mostly works from the wing. But from the point, which is where I am when I come up on offense, you need more of a straight shot. We’ll work on the upper body and the throwing motion, the elbow and the follow through.”
Caywood said some of the throwing drills are done while standing on a yoga ball, which helps simulate the absence of leverage one must deal with in the water.
This training, which now has been adopted by several New Trier players, is just one example of Caywood’s commitment.
Another example is Caywood’s decision to spend this summer in Northern California training with the elite Diablo Alliance Water Polo Club, based in Alamo.
Caywood and her younger sister Leah, a freshman and recent call-up to the New Trier varsity, will stay with their aunt and spend most of the summer training with the program. Sarah Caywood said she also expects to play in multiple tournaments, some of them with college coaches in attendance.
“It’s always best to go to California,” Sarah Caywood said. “All the players there have been playing for years, they have much more experience than I have. It’s immersion into the sport.”
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Sarah Caywood, whose older sister Hannah was a goaltender at New Trier and now plays club water polo at Michigan, said giving up a summer at home in order to improve her game was an “easy decision.”
“I love the sport so much and it’s been such a part of my life for so long,” Sarah Caywood said. “Both my sisters play and all my cousins. It’s just the sport for me and my family and I hope to play in college.”
Dan Shalin is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @Pioneer_Press