ORANGE PARK – “My name is Isabella Sells. I’m currently 17, in my senior year at Pearson Online Academy, and I am a four-time Junior Olympian for water polo,” the Orange Park resident said straightforwardly.

At just 4, Sells was treading water for her local swim team. After swimming competitively for several years in the Bay Area in California where she grew up, Sells became interested in pursuing a more dynamic, team-based sport. That’s when she discovered water polo.

“I started playing water polo when I was 9 and had my first tournament when I was 11 years old,” she said.

Sells said water polo is like soccer in the water.

Sells plays the center position, which is the most important attacking position in water polo. The role of the center-forward player is to stand nearby the goalie of the opponent team and score goals.

The goal Sells is most proud of was from center, where the defense was “pretty heavy.”

“It’s not uncommon to get kicked or punched under the water during moments like these,” Sells said. “There’s a lot going on under the water. There’s a lot of kicking underwater, especially when you’re trying to swim to the other side of the pool. And there’s a lot of scratching. Before games in the Junior Olympics, they will check your nails. If they are too long, they make you cut them shorter.”

Besides people trying to grab and hit you to get an advantage or slow you down, there are a lot of other stressors that make water polo one of the most physically strenuous Olympic sports.

Unfortunately, this can be hard when water is constantly splashing on your face. “Visibility gets really hard, especially because you’re not allowed to wear goggles. With the chlorine and everything, it starts to hurt your eyes.”

Strangely enough, many athletes pour milk into their eyes after an intense game, which Sells claims “makes them hurt less.”

Sells competed with the Stanford, all-girl water polo team in the Junior Olympics.

“Not the college team, but they are affiliated with the college. The coaches are the same,” said Sells. Unlike the Olympics, the junior version is open to U.S. competitors only and held in American cities. It gives young athletes a chance to perform on a National stage against some of the best competitors in the county. The USA Water Polo Junior Olympics Championship is the largest water polo tournament in the country.

Despite her eight-year water polo career, Sells says that going to Nationals is not a dream of hers. “I want to pursue my academic, and other interests and hobbies more,” Sells said. A graphic designer and webtoons creator, Sells shares many interests.

Sells commissions digital artwork and is putting the finishing touches on her Sci-Fi fantasy comic book that she’s planning to publish in December. She is also working on an online visual game, as well as a novel which she hopes to finish “somewhere down the line.” Sells uses her art to inspire people to pursue new endeavors.

Most recently, Sells was named a 2022 “18 Under 18” award recipient by the National Society of High School Scholars after publishing a video outlining the crossover between leadership and creativity. The video details Sells’ passion for combining her love of writing, art and psychology.

“You typically hear people talk about art as a vehicle for self-expression or quote on quote a more ‘selfish endeavor.’ But I was trying to argue that even though art can be self-indulgent, that does not necessarily mean that it only helps the person creating the art. I think that art can inspire others,” she said. “It can add to the form of leadership,” she said. Although water polo and art don’t cross over in direct ways, Sells says that she has learned leadership skills from both.

“Water polo is pretty exerting. There’s a lot going on and it’s taught me to be more persistent and stand strong in the face of challenges,” she said. “Water polo is more direct leadership skills, and art and storytelling are a bit more subtle in direct leadership. I think that’s something that’s really helped me diversify my leadership skills both professionally and academically.”