ORLANDO THUNDER
WATER POLO
OUR COACHES
Coach Possell
Stephanie Johnson Possell, our original founder of Orlando Thunder, has been coaching and teaching since 1989, has over 1000 Career Wins and reached her 500th win with Olympia High School in 2020. She has built programs that are regularly at the top of the podium, focusing on fundamental skill and water polo IQ. Leading her teams to win gold medals at high school and age-group levels, she has also been awarded PA State Coach of the Year, Spectrum All Sport Central Florida Coach of the Year, several USAWP Coach of the Year awards, and many Metro Coach of the Year awards. She has developed numerous athletes to become All Americans and Academic All Americans. Stephanie has been part of the USAWP ODP Developmental Program and a coach in the selection process for the Junior National teams. She is most proud of how many athletes continue to play in college at the varsity and club levels, athletes that grow into coaches, and now is excited about the opportunity to coach second generation water polo athletes. Coach Possell believes being academically successful is as important as being athletically successful.
Coach Dailer
Jen Dailer was named MVP and All American during her senior year in HS and played in Junior Olympics and Junior Nationals for 3 years. She continued on to the University of Maryland to play collegiate water polo, playing in the Women’s Collegiate National Water Polo Championships each year. After UM, she continued to play masters, founded the FAU water polo club, and coached Tulane water polo for one season. Jen has coached the junior camp held at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO and taught kids how to play in a tiny town of Alaska. Jen has been Head Coach of West Orange High School since 2011 and has been coaching with Orlando Thunder since November 2021.
Coach Steve
Stephen Stebbins is back in action both playing with Orlando Thunder’s Masters team and coaching our Juniors. In high school, he was an All American while playing for West Orange. He then continued on to play at the University of Florida. After graduation he returned home and became the Assistant Coach at West Orange High School and later was an Assistant Coach with Olympia High School in 2009-2010 with Coach Possell. After taking a water polo hiatus, we are excited to add Coach Steve back to our team!
Coach Linn
​Coach Linn has been coaching with Olympia since 2011 and was an inaugural Orlando Thunder Coach. Linn has produced 5 All Americans and two team State Championships. Coach Linn is our Head Goalie Coach and her multiple sport experience makes her an excellent game play strategist. She has worked with National USAWP Coach Sean Nolan to help select Junior National team goalies. She started her water polo coaching career at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs where she was an Olympic Team Athletic Trainer.
Coach Elaine
Elaine played on the first ever Lyman HS team, she started the women’s UCF Team, played masters for over 10 years, coached Bishop Moore High School bringing them to several District and Regional Championships. She took some time off to be a mom, and now that her kids both Gavin and Ada are playing, she is back on deck! Elaine’s vast experience with water polo and education makes her a perfect fit for our program.
Coach Rachel
Rachel Carnevale started playing water polo at Olympia High School and was an Orlando Thunder original. She went on to play varsity water polo in college for Gannon University in PA, graduating as a four-year athlete with a degree in Exercise Science. Coach Rachel started coaching for Orlando Thunder in 2016 and was an assistant coach for Olympia High School while earning several championships, one of those being a State Championship. She has been an ODP Holiday Camp Coach and has traveled to California with our Junior Olympic Teams.
Coach Diego
Diego graduated from Universidad Valle del Momboy in 2020 with a degree in Industrial Engineering. Coach Diego is the youngest of three brothers that have all played on National Level playing in Spain, and Pan American Games. His oldest brother was a Peru National Team Coach. Diego has played on the Venezuelan National Team as a 16u, 18u, 20u, and Open age athlete. Since moving to Orlando he has won Gold at the Sunshine State Games and is now coaching with Orlando Thunder Water Polo Club and Olympia High School.
Coach Sydney
Sydney Fisk started playing water polo at the age of 8 with Legacy Water Polo in Monterey, CA. She was a pioneer in helping establish the area’s women’s club water polo team and played co-ed for 2 years under Olympian and hall-of-fame inductee Gary Figueroa. Born and raised in California, Sydney continued to compete in both swimming and water polo through high school including 4 years of varsity, receiving Academic All American in her senior year. During her summers she worked as a CA State Parks Lifeguard while playing club water polo and competing in Junior Olympics. She then went on to play for the Cal Poly Women’s Club Water Polo team where she competed on the National team for two consecutive years as a main starter. As a coach, Sydney believes that fundamentals are the base of a strong player and looks forward to helping players grow as both athletes and individuals.
Coach Griffin
Griffin Ewoldt was a High School State Champion at the Center position for Olympia High School. Griffin is a smart player who makes things happen in the pool by his game awareness. This will be his second season as one of our primary coaches for our 14 U team. Griffin’s patience in the water and knowledge of the game make him a great coach and addition to our team. Currently Griffin is the Vice President of the FAU Water Polo Team helping to build that program. Griffin easily builds a good rapport with other coaches, parents and athletes and is a great role model for our players.