Every time UCLA’s Emily Feher steps into the lukewarm pool
at Sunset Recreation Center, she gets the same feeling ““
chills down her back.
Practice is anything but routine this season for the Bruin
goalie.
Instead of facing freshmen and sophomores like she did a year
ago, Feher must contend with some of the nation’s best
players ““ the five Bruin Olympians who helped the United
States capture a bronze medal in Greece this past August.
“Wow, they’re shooting on me, that’s pretty
cool,” Feher said. “And it’s going to be like
that this whole season.”
Facing some of the most heralded players in the game could deter
the sophomore, but underneath Feher’s docile exterior rests
an athlete brimming with confidence.
“No, no, no, I’m excited,” Feher insisted with
a wily smile.
“I’m always up for a challenge and if anything
it’s a humbling experience.”
Going through practices where she fields hundreds of balls
hurled at her and enduring a taxing two-part day of practice which
includes weights and conditioning, Feher rarely has that look of
fatigue.
And unlike some players, she won’t be caught with ice
packs numbing her aches and pains.
“No, no ice for me,” Feher said. “I try not to
do that.”
But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t feel the pain
after one of her teammates rockets a shot off her face.
“Sometimes I touch my nose and I’m like “˜ow
it’s kind of tender what’s going on
there,'” Feher said.
“Sometimes I get my arm bent the wrong way or the ball
hits you in the right spot and your arm will go numb for a few
seconds.
“But it’s nothing too serious. The ball isn’t
too hard.”
The ball may not be too hard, but the speed at which Olympians
Natalie Golda, Thalia Munro, Amber Stachowski, Kelly Rulon and
Gabrielle Domanic hurl it is daunting even to the world’s
best.
Yet Feher has held her own in practice, earning the respect of
her teammates.
“A bunch of us hate shooting on her because she’s so
great back there in the cage,” Golda said. “It’s
always a big achievement getting one past Emily.”
“I’m sure it gets her fired up to practicing against
the best of the best every day,” said Domanic, who was also a
teammate of Feher’s in high school.
“It fires her up when she denies our shots, and we know we
definitely have a strong brick wall at the cage.”
Though Feher denies ever feeling nervous in practice, Krikorian
has made a conscious effort in practice to wear down his goalie. At
times he’s had the Bruin Olympians take it to Feher in
practice, trying to get her fatigued.
While fielding shots from 21 different players and watching the
ball hit top speeds of up to 40 miles per hour, Feher remains
poised while in the goal.
“Emily is a frustrating person to coach,” Krikorian
said.
“As a coach you sometimes want to really wear down your
players and force them to dig deeper and deeper. She has such an
incredible work ethic it’s hard to tell when she’s
getting tired and when she isn’t.”
Even more promising for the Bruins is that Feher has had one
year of collegiate experience and can build on her last
season’s statistics of 169 saves and a 4.57 goals against
average.
After the Bruins ended last season with a 22-5 record and a loss
to Stanford, 3-2, in the MPSF Tournament, Feher contemplated what
this season would be like with nearly half of this year’s
team being new to her.
“That’s something that I was looking forward
to,” Feher said.
“Every practice would be really intense having great
shooters throw the ball at your face every time. Those shooters are
going to prepare me for games, and that’s going to help my
confidence so much more knowing that I’m going against the
best shooters in the world.
“Can’t get much better than that.”
After a celebrated career at Santa Ana High School, in which she
captured four consecutive C.I.F. Championships, Feher already knows
the taste of what it’s like to win. Feher has already
captured three medals with the Junior World Olympic team, two golds
and one silver.
But it wasn’t always easy for Feher.
With no senior leadership last season, the bulk of the pressure
was put on her.
“At points last year I was a little scared of the
competition,” she said. “It was a big role to fill
being a freshman goalie with only 15 girls. It was a lot to
handle.”
Nevertheless, it was a year that allowed that Bruin team to come
together, paving the way for this year’s team to emerge as
perhaps the best water polo team ever assembled.
Though Feher carries herself with an air of confidence, her
demeanor is an anomaly.
As one of the leaders on this year’s team and the backbone
of the defense, Feher has garnered respect from every player around
her.
“She’s a humble and selfless player, which is really
rare to see nowadays,” said assistant coach Nicolle Payne,
goalie for the 2004 USA team.
“There’s no limit to what she can do. She’s
very strong mentally and physically, she’s great to work
with. She’s set a standard for work ethic for the past two
months, and I’m going to lead the way.”
“Rarely do you get someone as young as her that will speak
and that will immediately have everyone listen and respect what she
says,” Krikorian added.
Though there’s been talk about the 2008 Olympics for Feher
and the potential she has of filling one of the two spots for
goalies, Feher’s not thinking about that.
For now she’s just taking it one shot at a time.