Tension thickens in the air around the pool as the opposing team goes on the offensive, with the clock ticking down from the last 15 seconds. Without their sixth teammate and with Central Coast Section finals on the line, the water polo team swims in front of the cage, following the ball and defending their lead by one point. As the clock comes down to the last two seconds, a member of the opposing team throws the ball towards the cage. Arms fly up to block the ball, but it passes through all of them, leaving senior Jasmine Hansra as the final wall. She shoots her hands up and smacks the ball away. The buzzer blares, and the game is won. 

Jasmine started playing water polo at eight years old, inspired by her older sister to join the same club, San Jose Express. In first grade, she joined Harker’s water polo team, and now serves as co-captain of the Harker Girls’ Water Polo team with close childhood friend and longtime water polo teammate senior Alana Brill. She recounts her journey to truly loving the water polo community.

“Once COVID happened, I had no contact with my teammates, because I didn’t have a phone yet,” Jasmine said. “After COVID happened, the first practice back, I realized, ‘Oh, my God, I love these people. I don’t want to miss any more of these moments that I can have with them.’  I want to keep playing water polo with the people that I know will be there for me.”

Playing water polo deeply ties to Jasmine’s values and motivations. Jasmine thinks of water polo as greatly intertwined with every aspect of her life, often using the lessons and philosophies she gained from water polo to shape her principles. One value that she maintains both in and out of her sport is the importance of cherishing friendships and teamwork. Not only are they the biggest reasons Jasmine enjoys water polo so much, it is also the aspect that she believes to be the most influential in her life. 

“For me, teamwork means I have to make sure that everyone’s talking to one another, and also letting others know what exactly they have to do,” Jasmine said. “I have sun in my face half the time, so I can’t really see what’s happening. We have to work as a team because I can’t block all the balls, so I need defense coming back to help me and it all comes back to teamwork.”

Throughout all her experience playing water polo, Jasmine emphasizes her connection to the community as the biggest driving factor behind her dedication to water polo. In 8th grade, Jasmine went through a concussion while playing. Although she missed the second half of the season, she worked towards regaining her strength, attributing her motivation to the care package that her teammates made for her. Water polo coach and mathematics teacher Victor Adler recalls Jasmine’s strength in recovering from her injury.

“Jasmine’s been through a lot physically,” Dr. Adler said. “She was concussed and she came back, so she is resilient in that respect. She’s been on good teams and she’s been on not so good teams, but that doesn’t change her level of effort and attitude. As a coach, I appreciate having her there. She’s been consistently awesome over the years.”

Jasmine puts work into cultivating a team with unbreakable bonds. Her teammates affectionately refer to her as Jazzy, and she looks after her peers and underclassmen. In preparation for next year, Jasmine is currently training a frosh to inherit her position as goalie. Through all her contributions to water polo, her spirit, concentration and enthusiasm spread to all of her teammates. 

“She’s definitely made water polo a much more rewarding experience,” Alana said. “I play with her year-round, and I can always count on her as a teammate and as a goalie. A lot of the time, I wouldn’t have played if she hadn’t also played with me. She’s definitely been very impactful to my experience in water polo.” 

Beyond the game itself, water polo also changed the way Jasmine approaches life. Although she regards water polo as an escape from mundaneness, she also assesses matters in a new light, thanks to her teammates and coaches. 

“I now approach things more open-mindedly,” Jasmine said. “I don’t approach things wondering, ‘How will this affect just me, but how will this affect everyone that I’m with? What will this do to the people around me and me, and what can I do to make sure it doesn’t hurt all of us?”

This mindset spreads to the way she helps her friends and teammates, as she’s someone that people often call to ask for help or advice. Close friend Senior Anika Akkiraju, who has known Jasmine since childhood and lives close to her, shares the impact she felt from Jasmine. 

“She made me live in the moment and not let external things ruin what’s happening right now,” Anika said. “She’s taught me sometimes it’s okay to laugh when things aren’t going right. She’s also very calm. She knows how to handle adversity without freaking out.”

Through water polo, Jasmine retained world views and philosophies that impact her attitude in everything that she does. However, she also influences her friends, teammates and coaches with the focus and strength that she brings. Water polo is a community in which Jasmine makes her presence and energy felt by those around her.

“Be a rock,” Jasmine said. “You have to be stable for everyone around you so that others can believe in you and know that everything that you do has a reason. I want to be there for people, be ready to receive what everyone has to say, and have advice for people where it’s needed.”