IJ girls water polo Player of the Year: Redwood’s Stella Cico

Stella Cico

Redwood, girls water polo, senior

As one MCAL coach said, if you’re building a water polo team, you start with someone like Stella Cico.

“Her water polo IQ and smarts stand out,” Redwood girls water polo coach Brian Monty said of Cico, who was named the MCAL’s Player of the Year. “She is very athletic and quick, but not particularly big or tall for a goalie. She is always positioned at the correct angle and can read the play before it happens.”

Cico was in net as the Giants (8-0 MCAL, 17-11 overall) reached the North Coast Section Division I semifinals — a 5-3 loss to No. 2 seed Amador Valley. The senior gave Redwood the chance to win almost every game by holding strong as the last line of defense. But Cico, the Marin IJ’s girls water polo Player of the Year, was much more than a stopper.

“Looking back, the season was great,” said Cico, who has decided not to play sports in college. “Even though we didn’t win the MCAL championship, we went undefeated in the regular season within the league. Also, we grew tremendously as a team, because where we were in August, we wouldn’t have made top four in MCAL, and instead by November we were one of the top teams.”

While Cico credits the Redwood coaches and her teammates for the team’s success, Monty says the Giants couldn’t have done it without her.

“(Cico) is like having an additional coach in the water as she was constantly organizing the other defenders in the water and knew what defense they should be in,” Monty said. “She is also a great passer, which is very important for a goalie. Our team’s main strength besides our goalie/defense was our counterattack and she did a great job with feeding the counterattack with her accurate and smart passing.”

Cico showed her leadership in the pool, as well as in the classroom, as a 2021-22 USA Water Polo Academic All-American, and in the community as a youth commissioner on the Town of San Anselmo Historical Commission.

“She’s a quiet leader who led by example with hard work and focus, but was not afraid to step up and voice her opinion when needed,” Monty said.

— Derek Wilson