BY KYLE GLASER
MHEMET aster motivator. Straight shooter. Strong tactician. All of those phrases have been used to describe Hemet girls water polo coach Travis Henderson. And all of those traits are what enabled him to develop a champion. Henderson led a young, inexperienced team out of a slow start and turned it into the CIF Southern Section Division 7 champion. For that, he is the HSGameTime Girls Water Polo Coach of the Year. “Everybody works really hard for him,” said Shelbi Skinner, who was named the Division 7 player of the year. “They all know how dedicated he is to the sport and how much he actually knows and everybody just wants to try so hard when he is coaching us.” Henderson, who graduated from Hemet, initially wasn’t going to coach the girls this season. But shortly before the year began, he had a change of heart and took the reins. “It was such a blast,” he said. “It was so unexpected to even make the semifinals and then the finals and to win the whole thing.” All seven of Hemet’s starters had never played water polo before high school. Some didn’t even know how to swim when they first joined the program. But under Henderson’s tutelage, they became champions. “He was very thorough about how he explained things, how to tread, how to throw a ball properly,” said goalkeeper Tabitha DelCarmen. “How thorough he was and how precise about how he wanted things to look made us a better team.” In addition to his teaching skills, Henderson also has high expectations for himself. “I feel like screaming and yelling doesn’t accomplish anything,” he said. “I feel like if the girls are doing something wrong in the pool, then it’s my fault. I haven’t taught them right.” All of Henderson’s coaching traits, plus his decision to return for one more year, added up to one memorable year for Hemet and its players. “I was so thankful he was able to be our coach this year,” Skinner said. “I’m just really glad he came out. He’s the best coach I’ve ever had in any sport.”