Athlete of the Week: Devlin all settled in at goalkeeper for Rancho Bernardo High
Sarah Devlin has a good laugh about it now. But the first few weeks of her freshman year were filled with intimidation.
The Rancho Bernardo High girls water polo player feared she might not perform as well as she knew she could as a goalkeeper.
So, Devlin made the decision not to mention she played the position to Broncos coach Fred Gleason. Instead, she trained as a field player.
“I didn’t tell Fred for three weeks,” said Devlin, now a 5-foot-8 junior. “I was just nervous or intimidated of not doing well. So, for the first three weeks, I swam and trained in the pool (outside of the cage).”
Devlin eventually came around with the news and at first Gleason was a little wary because of her size. But after taking notice of her athleticism and strong arm, there was no doubt where she belonged.
“I thought she was a little undersized to be a goalie,” Gleason said. “I always measure wingspan and those kinds of things. But she had some experience playing goalie and she was one of the better athletes. She also had a great arm. So, it was easy to make her a goalie.”
And she has since blossomed into one of the top goalkeepers in the Palomar League. Last year was the first Devlin started all season in the cage for the Broncos and she earned All-Palomar League First-Team honors.
The then-sophomore made 250 saves in 30 games while leading Rancho Bernardo to its first league championship since 2004. She is back at it again this year, accounting for 125 saves, 18 steals and 11 assists over the first 16 games.
“She just does a great job getting the ball out and she is great at communicating and organizing our defense,” Gleason said. “She is always very focused and she has a lot of heart and tenacity. She improves every single day.”
Devlin started playing water polo during the summer after her eighth-grade year. The Pacific Polo Club needed a goalkeeper at the time so Devlin gave it a try and has been in the position ever since.
“At first, I wasn’t sure I liked goalie,” she said. “But every time I got the opportunity to play in the field I felt like I belonged at goalie. It just felt a lot better being in the cage.”
And the Broncos’ offense has taken advantage of her being there. Devlin’s ability to make strong, accurate throws have led to speedy, counter-attack strikes. She credits her offensive weapons for getting open.
“I would say I am a pretty lucky person with all the great players we have,” Devlin said. “I love it because I hate holding the ball for 15 seconds. It takes away what our offense can accomplish.”
The Broncos (8-8 entering this week) fell in the San Diego Section Division I semifinals last season to Westview. Rancho Bernardo, which opened Palomar League play with a 7-4 win over Torrey Pines last week, is hoping to earn a spot in the Open Division playoffs this year or to make a deep run in Division I.
Either way, Devlin says last year’s sour ending has the Broncos hungry for a strong finish this season.
“We definitely want a title bad,” she said. “It was pretty sad last year when we lost, especially since the seniors have gotten to the semifinals a few times, but never past it. We have come back strong this year.”
And their goalie is a big reason for that.