Published: November 26, 2010

Bushido once, Bushido forever

Vosters back home to play for old club By: Allan Besson Posted: 25/11/2010 1:00 AM |
Breda Vosters is home from Berkeley and will compete with the Bushido water polo team this weekend. American Thanksgiving couldn't have arrived at a better time for the Bushido Water Polo Club and alumna Breda Vosters. Currently a junior with the University of California at Berkeley Golden Bears, Vosters is thankful for the opportunity to spend time at home with her family.
Coincidentally, Bushido is scheduled to play Saturday and Sunday against Saskatchewan in a weekend of Prairie Water Polo League games at the Pan Am Pool. Vosters, who began with Bushido at the age of five, is a firm believer that once a Bushido, always a Bushido. For that, her home club gives thanks that the left-handed driver is home, and will suit up for both games. The weekend action includes Winnipeg's other water polo team, the Neptunes, with Bushido entering two women's and two men's teams. Bushido No. 1 women, who Vosters will be playing for, hit the water at 9 a.m., both Saturday and Sunday against Saskatchewan. The Neptunes open the competition Friday, with their women playing Saskatchewan at 7 p.m., and the men meeting at 8:10 p.m. For a complete schedule go to www.mbwaterpolo.com/clubs_teams.htm. While Vosters is not the only NCAA player from Bushido, she is the only one playing here this weekend. Also from Bushido are Serena Bredin, University of Hawaii Warriors, and Shae Fournier, Indiana Hoosiers. In 35 games last year, Vosters scored 18 goals for the Golden Bears, who finished third in the NCAA Div. 1, behind Southern California and Stanford. Family played a big role in Voster's choice of sports. "I started with Bushido when I was five-and-a-halfish," she said Wednesday at the pool. "We played in a little kiddie pool, and people would have to lift me up so I would be able to throw the ball. My sisters Erin (23) and Megan (20) played a few years before me. "My parents (John Vosters and Sidney Williamson) have always totally supported everything I decided to do. If I have to fly to Montreal four or five times a year for national tryouts, they pay for it. They are the No. 1 factor." The 5-foot-10 19-year-old has helped the junior national squad to a pair of Pan American gold medals in Florida last year and Brazil in 2008. In high school she led Grant Park Pirates to three straight championships. It was in Brazil that she was scouted by Berkeley. "I was really lucky," she recalled. "A couple of my friends on the junior national team were with me, and they were looking into the school. One of the assistant coaches from Berkeley was there, and my friends had been talking to her already. She introduced herself to us after our championship game. She was like, 'you played well. Here's my card. You can contact us. It would be interesting to hear from you.' "
With so much action going on beneath the water, Vosters, who weighs 165 pounds, says size plays a major role. "I'm probably about average, but size is definitely an advantage. You're a little harder to move around, and two-thirds of the action -- possibly more -- goes on under the water. You have to stay afloat, and try to gain offensive advantage constantly, while you always have someone pushing down on you." The next time Vosters gets a chance to suit up with Bushido could very well be the Canadian senior national championships May 27-29 at the Pan Am Pool. All national team athletes will return to their provincial and home teams for this event, including the women currently on the senior national team (ranked 2nd in the world), and the junior national team (ranked 6th). Vosters says she has a long way to go to make the national senior squad. "I'd say I probably need more than a bit of work, but it's been a dream of mine for quite a while." allan.besson@freepress.mb.ca

Related Items

• 
  Breda Vosters