Olivia Kuliga ’26

The Staples’ girls water polo team lines up before an impressive victory against Choate.

As a team that gains little attention, the girls’ water polo squad came off a discouraging season last year, achieving no wins throughout the course of their campaign. This recently inspired change when their new coach, Kade Marcyn Ramirez Zimmerman , took on a challenge and led them to their first victory in two years against Choate on March 30. 

Ramirez has been playing water polo for 22 years and started playing when he was six years old. 

“I realized [waterpolo] was something I wanted to pursue as soon as I was told I would be too small to play. That was as a player,” Ramirez Zimmerman said.

His passion for the sport prompted him to develop a motivation to coach, having also been inspired by Dan Long, the old Staples diving coach.

“[Long] used to tell me people won’t remember me for money but for what I did for others in this life,” Ramirez said.

In their recent game against Choate, Ramirez Zimmerman led the team to a 21-5 victory. The team scored their first goal within the first minute, which set them up to go into halftime with a 11 point lead. 

“I think I can speak for all the girls on the team when I say Kade’s motivation has inspired us to play better,” Olivia Kuliga ’26 said.

Following this win, Ramirez has further aspirations for this team and is also devoted to spreading the sport among the student body. 

 “Our goal is to be the best team in the state by the end of the season, and to end this drought,” Ramirez Zimmerman said. “Waterpolo is fun and if you have never played you can easily learn.”