KEEPING PLAYERS

IN THE GAME

with high school scholarships for students WHO EXCEL IN the classroom and in the WATER.

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MISSION

We believe every child has the right to receive an exceptional education. One Goal Water Polo Foundation was founded by Isabella Koretz, a Los Angeles-based entrepreneur and mother, with one goal: to provide high school scholarships for gifted students who also excel in water polo. While college water polo scholarships exist, we recognized a gap in grants for high school students, especially for those from families that may not qualify for sufficient financial aid to attend one of the Los Angeles area’s many excellent private or independent schools.

One Goal Water Polo Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Scholarship funding comes from individual and corporate donations.

PROGRAM

SCHOOLS

Why Private & Independent Schools?

Tuition-charging schools can offer a variety of benefits, including state-of-the-art facilities, a brilliant teaching staff, and dedicated coaches. The student bodies are often motivated and diverse, and the alumni networks are generally loyal, active, and generous. These benefits extend to athletic programs. The relationships student-athletes cultivate can last them lifetimes with instilled lessons and values that help define the people they become.

PROGRAM

Who’s Eligible?

The scholarship program will be available to qualified students in grades 9-12 who display a promising and consistent devotion to their studies, a passion for water polo, and a desire to continue their academic and athletic career. It’s designed to help students in need of a small amount of financial support to bridge the gap between tuition and what the family can afford.

There is no income limit that automatically makes your family ineligible for the scholarship. We take into account your income, assets, and expenses, including educational costs for other children.

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PROCESS

Who Decides?

We work with independent third parties to ensure equity and fairness in the award process. Families submit applications and required documents through School and Student Services (SSS), an organization that’s worked with schools and access groups for decades. Based on the information you provide, SSS calculates your financial eligibility for the scholarship. Then the committee reviews all financially eligible athletes to determine the best fit, both academically and athletically. We will grant up to 15 scholarships per year, with a maximum of $10,000 annually.

Each application is highly confidential – the One Goal Water Polo Foundation board will not have access to your family’s financial information. We simply make decisions based on the information you provide using a rigorous data methodology.

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The deadline to apply for the 2021-2022 academic year is February 22, 2021.

The application is available online using the SSS platform, which enables you to track your submission and receive notifications of any missing information prior to the application deadline. Once you complete the application, you’ll be asked to upload tax documents, academic transcripts, and a coach recommendation form which you can find here.

Please refer to these application instructions to help you through the process.

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LEADERSHIP

Isabella Koretz
Isabella Koretz

Isabella Koretz founded One Goal Water Polo Foundation in the hopes of providing the same experience to other children that she was able to give her son Jeffrey, a high school student and water polo player. Married for seventeen years to Alexander Koretz, a dedicated anesthesiologist at Providence St. Joseph for over two decades, the two have always turned their children’s passions into their family’s passions. From their son’s vigor for water polo inspiring the foundation to their daughter Sandra’s philanthropic efforts to help others (which also inspired Alex’s first medical mission to Armenia)—they have always taken their children’s gravitations to heart. Inspired by all facets of wellness, Isabella is also the founder and CEO of Pearl Wellness Retreat, a premier post-surgical aftercare facility as well as Ciel Spa at SLS Hotel. As a business woman and dedicated mother, Isabella sees her worlds merging in the form of the One Goal Water Polo Foundation.

Peter Schiavelli
Peter Schiavelli

Passionate about youth mentorship and the value of educational breadth, Peter has spent much of the past decade either on a pool deck or in a classroom. From 2014-2018, he was an Assistant Water Polo Coach at Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles, where his teams won two CIF Div. I Championships and were the top-ranked team in the country over that five-year span. Before that, he coached at Agoura High School, where his teams won four CIF Championships, and he was named CIF Div. II Coach of the Year. Throughout this time, he tutored middle- and high-school students in a variety of subjects.

Peter graduated from Harvard-Westlake School before matriculating to Stanford University, where he received his BA with Honors in English and graduated Phi Beta Kappa.

Currently, he is the Written Content Director at Helena, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit that focuses on social impact. He devotes much of his time to the longer form pieces that populate the Helena Magazine.

Having spent so much time working with students both athletically and academically, Peter is thrilled to have found a way to beneficially impact both of those spheres through One Goal Water Polo Foundation.

CONTACT US

donate@onegoalwaterpolo.org