Josey Troyer (’17) Water Polo

Josey Troyer’s (’17) endeavors as a water polo player stemmed from the location of his birth. He grew up in Southern California where he says almost everyone plays the sport. Instead of dropping off like the majority of kids, Troyer stuck with it. It has led to a considerable amount of success for him. He is currently on the Middlesex Water Polo team, which travels around the country playing other club teams. The team consists of several players on the Great Britain National Water Polo team. Troyer himself says it’s more than just a hobby for him. “I would consider it a sport I try to do my best at and one that I think I excel at it to some extent,” he said. While Troyer is not competing at the moment, he just finished a season on the varsity swim team which he believes will help him with his water polo skills. He plans to play competitively again in the fall to continue to strive for his ultimate goal which is to play competitively in university in four years’ time.

Sophie Clark (’16) Trapeze

For Sophie Clark (’16), a career as a trapezist began during the summer when she was 11 years old. “I have always been into daredevil sports and my mom signed me up for this flying trapeze class with these people called Gorilla Circus,” Clark said. “I basically went when I was 11 for a few weeks and ended up staying there all summer.” Clark has continued to practice trapezing since that summer, attending a weekly circus class every Friday at Circus Space. Regarding circus sports, Clark sticks to the aerial arts, practicing mainly the flying and static trapezes. The flying trapeze is an art in which the participant jumps off of a platform with the trapeze and performs various tricks such as hanging upside down and flips. Alternatively, the static trapeze consists of the participant doing tricks on a trapeze that mostly stays in place. Clark has an immediate ambition in mind as she will be trying out for the London Youth Circus this September. The group puts on multiple performances throughout London. While she does not consider trapezing to be of paramount importance to her future, she does consider it as something of a back-up plan. “I obviously want to do other things, but it’s a great back-up job. If you ever get stuck, you can just join the circus. Why not?”

André Purits (’15) Sailing

Since he was 8 years old, Andre Purits (’15) has been sailing with the Royal Swedish Sailing Club every summer. He has continued to improve his sailing skills each summer and has progressed to more difficult boats. Unlike many athletes, Purits does the sport solely as a hobby, as he only sails on his own time for fun instead of on a competitive level. Despite his love for sailing, Purits finds the accessibility difficult in London as the only lakes are far away, so he mostly sticks to sailing in Sweden. “In Sweden I have a little boat which I sail on my own and sometimes with my dad and friends,” he said. Purits stresses the fact that he often sails with his father, not only in Sweden but also on the Mediterranean sea, where he sails a larger boat. Purits’ love for the sport comes from the feeling he gets on the boat, a feeling he is almost unable to articulate and he says only people who sail could understand. “Being on a motor boat is fast and fun, but [there is] something about sailing and how it’s so silent. It’s just such a cool feeling,” he said. Purits hopes to continue sailing at an amateur level, and says it will be a bonus to have sailing accessible to him when he goes to university. “When I look at universities, [sailing] is a bonus ,but it’s not a deciding factor,” he said. “It’s just a cool skill to have.”

zack_ashley@asl.org