Paige Hauschild is an up-and-coming standout on the Women's National Team and is training with the team at the Los Alamitos (CA) Joint Forces Base as the squad prepares for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
She's one of the 17 players trying to make the 13-woman Olympic roster—and in regard to training, she says, "It's going to be a grind. It's going to be really hard. But I think all of us are really excited, and all we can ask for is that we continually improve, and show up to every practice and every game willing to compete and challenge each other so from here on out all of us know what we're preparing for. We always have Tokyo on our minds, and we're planning to bring a lot of effort to every opportunity whether it's versus ourselves or other competition in international games. All we can do is give our best, play our best, and compete every time we hit the pool. And hopefully when we get to Tokyo, we'll be in our best shape and ultimately get some wins and have some success from it."
Hauschild has come a long way to get where she is today, as her journey to the National Team started at a young age. Her parents signed her up to play for the Santa Barbara Water Polo Club when she was about 8. Reflecting on why she joined, she says, "I was pretty good at swimming but got bored of it, and then I made some friends through junior lifeguards. A lot of the girls I lifeguarded with played water polo, as well as other girls who were on my swim team." She enjoyed playing so much that her parents—neither of whom played the sport but enjoyed watching it—encouraged her older brothers to play, too, with both of them going on to have successful college careers.
The first club Hauschild played for was Santa Barbara Water Polo Club, which eventually became Santa Barbara 805. There she consistently played in the older age groups and got to watch some of her current teammates—like Kiley and
Jamie Neushul— play. She also was teammates with their sister Ryann. Recalling her top moment, Hauschild says, "When I was about 15, we went to Holland and trained with their youth team. We stayed for about a week over spring break and got to play against some really tough competition there. That was one of my favorite memories, and it was also fun to hang out with my team. That kind of sparked my whole interest in traveling and playing water polo and National Team stuff."
On top of playing club water polo, Hauschild competed for San Marcos High School in Santa Barbara where she was on varsity all four years. Being a freshman on varsity was a challenging experience, but she enjoyed the experience: "It was definitely challenging playing in varsity tournaments when I was freshman because I used to be a really small, skinny little thing playing against these super-talented older girls. Competing against other schools and playing in big tournaments were definitely a challenge but then you get used to it, so it was a good experience." As for her top high school moment, Hauschild adds, "My freshman and sophomore years we lost in the CIF quarterfinals. Then my junior year we made it to the semifinals, and in my senior year we made it all the way to the finals. So, making it to CIF four times was definitely a top highlight."
Growing up Hauschild enjoyed watching the National Team, and since she was from Santa Barbara, she had a close connection to National Team players like Kami Craig who was from the area. "I remember when I was 14 years old and played at the U.S. Open, and Kami came back and played with us. There's a picture with me and
Ryann Neushul—which is funny because we both play on the National Team now—where Kami is giving us both a piggy-back ride, and we look tiny. Now I'm friends with Kami and I talk with her all the time. She stopped playing after 2016 and is a big name in water polo. She was definitely someone I looked up to."
To get her own National Team experience started, Hauschild participated in the Olympic Development Program starting in her freshman year of high school. This was a new experience for her, as no one she knew from the Santa Barbara area had done it before. But
John Abdou—USA Water Polo's high-performance director—got to know her parents through recruiting her brother and encouraged them to have Hauschild try it.
Even though she jumped into the process a bit late she quickly progressed through the ranks and was selected as one of the 13 athletes to go to a Hungary training trip. "I ended up making that roster, and a big moment for me was when I got MVP at the ODP Championships tournament, which also was shocking. I realized that I was actually better than I previously thought. That was a spark for me in the whole National Team process. [In Hungary] we played some games with their 16 and under team, and then the following year I did the youth team." The next year Hauschild was chosen to compete at the Junior World Championship, but her appendix burst right beforehand, so she did not make the trip.
As she was progressing in her high school career, Hauschild recognized early on her potential and became focused on playing collegiately with her goal being to make the National Team. Ultimately, she narrowed down her college choices to Stanford, USC, and UCLA, eventually deciding on USC. As she recalls, "I really enjoyed the team camaraderie at USC. It's a phenomenal school. It comes with some really cool extra benefits for all students. The water polo coaching staff are super driven, and I wanted to become the best player I could be. I had faith that they could get me to where I wanted to be, but also I really liked Stanford and UCLA, so it was a really hard decision for me."
Before Hauschild wound up at USC she received her first National Team call up to the 2017 FINA Intercontinental Tournament in Auckland, New Zealand. Hauschild recalls, "I was 15 years old at a Cal Cup game at Santiago High School, and Adam asked to talk to me after the game. I think it was an ODP tournament. He asked if I would be willing to play with the Senior team. I was obviously super giddy. I remember telling my mom, and she was almost crying. At the time it was a big deal for me. I was excited that I was even considered." Following that successful tournament Hauschild was called up to her first major FINA event later in the summer: the 2017 FINA World Championships in Budapest, Hungary. On her experience she says, "I was very nervous, very intimidated going up against the best in the world—and in front of so many people. We played at Margaret Island, which is in Budapest, and it's like one of the biggest venues for water polo. There were thousands of people watching, and it was super scary for me. I was definitely a beginner. I didn't go out there and dominate right off the bat, but it was a great learning experience, and to this day I am super thankful for that because you have to start somewhere. I think the biggest thing I learned was just believing in myself."
Hauschild is currently taking a gap year to focus on training for the National Team, but she says her first two years playing at USC have been great: "I loved my team. We all got along super well. Everyone was super passionate and driven. It was a fun but competitive atmosphere. We were all close. We all lived together. We spent like every hour that we weren't in the pool together." So far she's played in two NCAA finals, both against Stanford, winning one and losing one. Recalling her greatest moments, she says, "Winning NCAA my freshman year and getting nominated for the Pete Cutino award [both years], which was kind of a surprise for me, especially my freshman year. That was not even on my mind, and when Jovan called to tell me, I was like, 'Holy cow, that's super rad.'"
Hauschild's latest National Team trip saw her traveling to Australia for training and an exhibition series. It was a successful trip even though the winning streak for the Women's National Team came to end: "Obviously we lost to Australia in our second game, but despite a lot of our successes, I think it was obvious to all of us and our coaching staff that we have a lot to work on as a team. Even though we were winning games a lot of times we weren't always satisfied with our performances. We really struggle in our 6-on-5s, so that's something we're really targeting. For me personally, when I was in the Holiday Cup and the Australia series as a center defender playing against top teams, I got to see different centers and a lot of different styles of play. So, I think that I found a lot of weak spots in my game as a defender, and I learned a lot based on how some of the best centers in the world play and just how the game was being called. So that's definitely a big thing I want to work on now that I'm home."
Finally, Hauschild offers advice to those dreaming of making the National Team in the future: "The most important thing is to believe in yourself, and the best way to earn other players' respect and earn their trust is to give your 100% effort every chance you get and just be your most authentic self. Giving your best and challenging your teammates no matter how old they are is important, too. The best way I've learned to get their respect is to challenge everyone. There's nothing you can't do when you set your mind to it."
