Taylor Halbauer

Assistant Coach

Hometown: Edmonton, AB

Player Position: Center

Canadian Club Team Affiliation:

Edmonton Thunderbirds 2014 - 2017
Edmonton Tsunami 2018 - Present
Edmonton Riptides 2021 - Present

Player/Coach Career:

2023 SFU Student Athlete of the Year
All-CWPA Conference Second Team 2023, 2022, 2021
2022 All-America Honorable Mention
2020-2022 Water Polo Canada’s Senior National Team Talent Pool
2021 All-America Honorable Mention
2020 SFU Outstanding Freshman
18U and 17U Junior National Teams
Tsunami Female Athlete of the Year 2017, 2018, 2019

FUN FACTS

What is your favourite sports movie?

Bad Boys

What is your dream vacation?

Maldives

What ice cream flavour best describes your personality?

Spicy Chocolate Chili Ice Cream

How do you like to spend your free time?

Watching Law & Order

Describe yourself in three words:

Competitive, Confident, Abmitious

What is your favourite food?

Steak

Q & A with Coach Taylor

Q: How did you first start playing water polo?

A: I started playing water polo because I had to give up competitive swimming for club soccer.

Q: What is it about water polo that made you fall in love with the sport?

A: The physicality of it.

Q: What is your favourite water polo memory?

A: I have two favourite memories. The first is winning bronze at Nationals with Tsunami. The second is beating Brown University at Conference Championships in 2023. Both of these were firsts for my teams.

Q: What made you want to be a coach?

A: I want to inspire girls in this sport to reach their goals.

Q: Who was your most influential coach?

A: Raine Paul and Jay O'Neil

Q: Who is an athlete you admire?

A: Bill Laimbeer

Q: What is your favourite quote?

A: "Whoever said, "It's not whether you win or lose that counts," probably lost." -- Martina Navratilova