Ben Stevenson is from Reno, Nevada—a place not known for water polo. Therefore, his journey in the sport has been different from most national team athletes. Stevenson grew up playing soccer, basketball, and football but did not enjoy swimming. However, his mom convinced him to try water polo: "My mom, who's from Berkeley, California, played in high school when she was growing up, and there was a small Masters team in Reno that she took me to, and I really fell in love with the sport and found out I could play as well."
 
As there was no official high school water polo competition in Reno, Stevenson competed on different club teams: "When I first started there was a high school club and a Master's club. The Master's program was kind of like a club full of kids from Washington County or the Reno area, so in the fall we would go down to Sacramento and play maybe four or five tournaments a year, and then we would just practice year-round."
 
To get more competitive water polo, Stevenson joined the ODP program, which was also his first National Team experience: "I started ODP after my freshman year of high school, and I met Sandy Nitta and a bunch of great people who helped me out. I made some really good connections with them, so from that point on I realized I wanted to play in college, and then I wanted to be on the National Team and go to the Olympics. So, from a young age I knew I wanted to do that."
 
In order to reach his dream of making the National Team and the Olympics, Stevenson had to find more opportunities outside of Reno, so he began practicing with a club in Sacramento: "I would drive up to Sacramento three times a week, which was like a two-hour drive, and go to the practice there during the school year, and then during the summer I would live down there in Sacramento and play in all the competitions and trainings they had." 
 
As his career continued to progress, Sandy Nitta convinced him to join Team Vegas—a club she had established: "They were very serious about their training and trying to establish a really competitive club down there, so during my junior year of high school I transferred schools and moved from Reno down to Las Vegas—about 7 hours away. I trained with Team Vegas, and that helped me a lot. Both Sacramento water polo and Team Vegas-Henderson were really crucial to my success and where I am today, as well as the families that helped put me out there."
 
Living away from home at a young age was difficult, but he has no regrets: "It was tough to be away from friends and family, but it was all worth it because of where I am right now. Both teams really accepted me and helped me to feel comfortable, so I can't thank those teams enough."
 
On top of regular club competitions, Stevenson also competed in Junior Olympic for several clubs, and his first opportunity came in 8^thgrade: "I went to Junior Olympics with a team from Dallas. Me and my friend from Reno had just started playing, and we wanted to see what it was about, and we went. I think we may have won only a single game, but it was great to go down there anyway." Stevenson continued to appear in Junior Olympics over the years as he competed for both Sacramento Water Polo and Team Vegas. Recalling his top moment, he says, "With Team Vegas we actually did pretty well one year and came in ninth. Being outside of California and getting that position was a pretty big deal for us at the time. I would say that being outside of California I always had a bit of a chip on my shoulder. Nobody really knew who I was, so this moment was big for me."
 
Stevenson went on to play for the University of the Pacific: "It was through ODP. I made the junior Pan Am team and went to go compete in Canada my junior year, and that's when I connected with Zac Koerner who was the assistant coach at Pacific, and he started to recruit me a little bit. So when I was looking at colleges, it was really between Santa Barbara and Pacific, and Pacific turned out to be a great fit for me." While at Pacific, Stevenson experienced great moments, including making it to the NCAA final his freshman year: "When I came in, we were immediately super good. We had Balazs Erdelyi, Goran Tomasevic, and Alex Malkis, who had been at Pacific for four years. They're all really talented. Making it to the National Championship my freshman year was a great experience. But the rest of my time at Pacific was great also. The connections I made with all the guys were lifelong, and James Graham really helped me to develop as a player and taught me to look at the game in a different way."
 
Growing up Stevenson enjoyed watching the National Team and any water polo game he could get his hands on: "I would try to watch as much film as I could, pretty much all on YouTube, whether it was our National Team or different clubs in Europe. I was like a sponge trying to soak up everything." Stevenson also looked up to players from the 2008 Beijing Silver Medal team: "I specifically admired Tony [Azevedo] just because he's such a great shooter and passer all around as well as Adam Wright because of how smart he was, and I liked how he played."
 
Stevenson's first experience with the National Team came when he participated in the Olympic Development Program for the Mountain Zone. He made it to the top 30 every year and went on one trip to Canada, which inspired him to keep improving: "Making those teams really helped fuel the fire to get better."
 
Stevenson was first called up to the Senior National Team in 2014 for a couple of training sessions and an exhibition series with Serbia. On his reaction to being called up, he recalls, "I was super excited. It's what I'd been working for since my sophomore year of high school. To have all that work pay off was really gratifying. Then I took a break after 2014 and got called back up in 2017, which was really when I would say I got involved with the group, and that was great."
 
Stevenson's first appearance at a major FINA event occurred at the 2018 FINA World Cup in Berlin, Germany. "That was awesome. I was pumped. It was just so cool to go there and get a feel for a major tournament while competing against the best teams in the world. And then hearing the national anthem and representing my country—it was what I dreamed of for the longest time. Just amazing." 
 
Following his college career, Stevenson began playing overseas: "I wanted to continue playing water polo, and I wanted to continue training to make the 2020 Olympics. Those were my main two goals, and I think playing abroad was really helpful." His first professional stop was in Australia where he played for the Sydney Uni Lions: "It was awesome. Sydney is a great city. The club was great, and we went undefeated and won the national championship." The following year Stevenson traveled to Spain where he competed for Navarra Water Polo Club: "I would say another reason for playing abroad was to experience different cultures. Navarra is in Pamplona where they do the running of the bulls. We weren't the best team, but I got to play against the best teams and got some really good experience—and even learned some Spanish." As his career progressed Stevenson got an offer to play for a club in Barcelona called C.E. Meditterani, and he took it, but his season has been cut short due to COVID-19. "We were pretty talented and had some good guys, and yeah it was a really fun season. But when it got cut off because of the virus, I just got called back one night, and they're like, 'We need to get you out of Spain.' So, I packed up my stuff and left."
 
On top of playing abroad, Stevenson also has competed domestically for the USA Youth Team as well as Alumni and NYAC at the Men's Senior Nationals. On that experience he says, "The National League experience was great just to get more games in and hone my skills and work on my craft. Just getting more game time is always beneficial, so yeah, I think it's a great thing."
 
To begin 2020 the Men's National Team traveled down to Australia for a training trip and exhibition series where they wound up winning one game and losing two. "We were in a cool part of Australia, and the trip coincided pretty much with their Junior Olympics, so the atmosphere was awesome. They had a huge stadium filled up, and it was almost like one of the FINA events. It wasn't the result we wanted, but it was a good experience and definitely beneficial."
 
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the Men's National Team isn't in the pool. So how is Stevenson staying in shape? "I'm in Reno right now, and I'm doing a lot of long distance running and trail running and also four weightlifting sessions a week with the National. The pools here should open up soon, and then I'll be back in there as well as in the gyms."
 
Stevenson is constantly looking to improve his game and is aiming for "just getting better at everything. Getting bigger, getting faster, getting stronger, and working on my center defense."
 
With the Olympics being moved to 2021, Stevenson now has more time to prepare: "I wasn't really that disappointed that the Olympics were delayed because it gives me another year to keep playing. I really enjoy working hard, so I'm looking forward to the extra training, working out, and improving. I would say that the Olympics being delayed is actually beneficial for our team just because we're so young, and it's just going to give us time to get better, so it's pretty much full throttle for the next 12 months, just like it would be for our regular year."
 
Lastly Stevenson offers advice to athletes hoping to make the National Team someday:
"Besides watching as much film as you can, I would say that the biggest factor is your mindset—more specifically determination and persistence. I made up my mind when I was a sophomore in high school that I wanted to play at this level, and I've had a more than a handful of people tell me that I wasn't good enough. You can't let that discourage you. Just keep going, work hard, and you'll eventually get there."