U.S. OLYMPIC FESTIVAL LOS ANGELES 1991 : NOTEBOOK

Still in goal: Sandy Vessey had waited a long time to play in her first women’s water polo World Championships, and after helping the U.S. team win a bronze medal last January in Perth, Australia, she figured it was time to call it quits.

The 26-year-old goalie from Huntington Beach had barely finished making the announcement of her retirement before she started having second thoughts, though.

“The World Championships had been this huge goal for so long and we worked so hard preparing for it that it just seemed like the time was right,” Vessey said. “So I retired. But I didn’t want to and I didn’t know what I was quitting for. I feel like there’s still a lot to do and I think I can still play.”

Vessey, who had two saves for the North team in a defense-oriented 9-7 victory over the South Sunday at Cal State Long Beach, was the only girl in the Sunset League who played boys’ varsity water polo during her four years (1979-82) at Marina High.

She coached the Marina boys’ team last year, but recently accepted a full-time teaching position at a Long Beach junior high for this fall.

“I guess I’ll keep playing as long as it’s still fun and fits into my life style,” she said. “I’m working on my master’s now, and you think about getting married and having kids and the increasing responsibilities of getting older. For now, I’ll just keep trying to juggle it into my schedule.”