U.S. OLYMPIC FESTIVAL : Parker Finds Her Element : Swimmer Emerged as Water Polo Player

Dad predicted she would be good.

Mom feared for her looks.

Personally, Christy Parker always thought water polo was “a guy thing.”

She was wrong.

Plenty of women play. They simply play a little differently than most men.

They are not as strong, not quite as fast. But, Parker says, they are “twice as nasty.”

She would know. For the past six years, Parker has risked all those cute little facial features that mothers tend to worry about.

Teeth. Nose. Eyes.

Mom was right. Water polo is one tough sport.

But dad was right too.

Parker is good.

Good enough to play on two collegiate championship teams.

Good enough to play a key role on a West women’s squad that seems destined for Olympic Festival gold.

The West, with Parker playing tenacious defense, has three wins and a tie in its first four matches. A win today over the South squad would earn the West a date in Saturday’s gold-medal match.

Until she enrolled at UC San Diego, Parker never considered playing water polo. Growing up in Sherman Oaks, she was too involved in other sports. Parker was on the swimming, basketball and volleyball teams at Notre Dame High. She also dabbled in soccer.

In swimming, she was a Southern Section finalist in the freestyle sprints. In basketball, she was a scrappy guard and her team’s most valuable defensive player.

Water polo has given her the opportunity to exhibit those talents.

Parker, 23, plays driver, a position that requires smarts, speed and deft defensive skills.

Parker rates high in all three categories. She has a degree in biology and several top-10 finishes in NCAA Division III championship swim meets to her credit. Also, says West Coach Denny Harper, “She is the toughest player I’ve ever coached.”

He is not just blowing bubbles.

Harper is coach at UC San Diego, which has eight representatives on the women’s teams at the Palo Alto College Natatorium this week.

His UCSD water polo squads have won three consecutive collegiate titles and he also coaches a San Diego-based women’s amateur team that is defending national champion both indoors and outdoors.

Parker came to UCSD to study and swim. She earned the degree she was after, but her athletic endeavors, under Harper’s guidance, were altered a bit.

After enjoying moderate success as a swimmer, Parker became a four-time All-American in water polo.

When her collegiate eligibility was completed, Parker was offered a berth on the U.S. national “B” team, a developmental squad that does not compete in international events. She declined, saying she no longer was willing to commit full time to the sport. Parker’s performance on Harper’s club team earned her a berth on the West team.

“Water polo has to be your life,” Parker said after a match this week. “I’ve been competing my whole life. I’ve never even taken a vacation.”

Parker tried water polo only at the suggestion of Harper, who was confident that her speed and savvy would offset her lack of size.

In water polo, size helps. Parker, a svelte 5-foot-7, can’t even palm the ball. Her first year, UCSD teammates called her “muffin.”

“She had a little trouble putting the ball in the goal,” Harper said diplomatically.

“I don’t have that strong of an arm,” Parker said. “Genetics, you know? My father apologizes every day. I can’t do some of the things these other girls can do. We have people on our team who throw like guys.”

Which is why Parker’s mother fears for her safety.

“To this day she says, ‘You’re too small. You’re going to get hurt,’ ” Parker said.

If that were true, it surely would have happened years ago.

As a first-year player with UCSD, Parker learned the ropes by guarding the team’s “hole” player during practice.

The hole position in water polo is similar to a center in basketball. When the ball gets to the hole player, it is either shot or passed to an open teammate.

Parker might as well have been guarding Michael Jordan on a basketball floor.

“They’d spin on me, backhand shots by me. . . . You name it, they did it,” Parker said. “But you learn that way.”

There were other lessons.

Water polo is deceptive to watch. What seems to be a game of finesse more closely resembles kick-boxing when viewed below the water line.

Parker repeats a favorite line of Harper’s: “Don’t be used as a human starting block.”

As the action darts back and forth the length of the pool, the players tire. Given an opportunity, they propel themselves while changing direction by kicking off an opponent’s body.

“You get kicked in the kidneys, kicked almost everywhere,” Parker said. “If they can, they’ll swim right over you. That’s why it’s important to stay clear. There is a lot of suit grabbing and pulling and pushing.”

Parker stays out of trouble by anticipating possession changes and using her sprinter’s speed to outrace opponents.

However, she added, “If provoked, I can dish it out.”

She is smiling as she says this. There are no scars or other outward signs of disfigurement on her face.

Dad definitely would be proud. Mom, relieved.