Two-time Olympic Gold Medalist Maggie Steffens Joins TeachAids Ambassador Team
For California native Maggie Steffens, choosing water polo was a no-brainer. She played a variety of other sports as a child but water polo runs in her blood. Her father, too, was enamored by the sport after watching a match during his youth and ended up playing for UC Berkeley, leading them to the 1977 NCAA championship. Maggie Steffens and her siblings grew up with water polo balls floating in the pool, so it is no surprise that both she and her sister picked up the sport.
In her collegiate years, Maggie helped Stanford win three NCAA titles. During her senior season, she scored the winning goal against UCLA in the last nine seconds, clenching the NCAA title. She was named the MVP of the NCAA tournament in both 2015 and 2017. Even before her collegiate success, Steffens won eleven gold medals in the twelve FINA World Cups and FINA Super Finals she competed in between 2010 and 2016.
She has competed in both the 2012 London Olympics and the 2016 Rio Olympics, setting the world record for most goals scored (21) during the Olympics in women’s water polo. Moreover, she was named MVP of the tournament both years for her stunning performances.
Steffens mentions in an interview with Swimming World that “we love making history, we love being first—and the most important part of that is the culture and our teamwork.” She certainly is full of firsts. In 2018, she signed to play for Hungary’s UVSE, the most elite women’s team in the country. She recalls her experience playing Worlds in Hungary during an interview with the New York Times, commenting “There is a heartbeat for water polo here and I just love that.” Most recently, she co-founded 6-8 Sports, Inc., a youth performance analytic company that aims to help youth athletes maximize their game.
TeachAids is so happy to have such an accomplished and dedicated athlete as an ambassador, and we are looking forward to the impact we can make together.