Martin Gets Down to Business
4/21/2016 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
April 21, 2016
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- When teams refer to going on the road as a "business trip," it has double meaning for senior attacker Kelly Martin of the Michigan water polo team.
Martin, a business administration major, has been getting real-world business experience this season working full time for her parents' online furniture company, totallyfurniture.com. Martin has managed working 6-8 hours a day while playing water polo at a high level and finishing up her degree.
"It was different last year when I only worked a few hours a day, but now that I am finishing up school it is a full time job," said Martin. "Even when we are traveling I will be up at 6 a.m. or up late working when I can. If I don't do it, the work piles up."
The increased work load has been manageable for Kelly, but her parents Jim and Debbie want her to focus on school and water polo first.
"She is such a hard worker and gives 110 percent to everything she does," said Debbie Martin. "We want her to have fun, and we want work to be at the bottom of her to do list."
Martin has had an interest in business since she was young, crediting wanting to be around her parents and being like-minded as them. She recalled filing papers when she was 10 years old and her parents owned a textile firm. Even in middle school she would jump in to conversations about business at the family dinner table.
"My husband and I would talk business at dinner, and she would participate in the conversation," said Debbie. "Some of her ideas we couldn't do, but a lot of what she said made sense and gave us a different perspective."
During a typical day, Kelly will wake up early and go to practice and then throughout the day process around 100 different orders such as customer payments, bills and invoices. While she is focused on accounting now, her classes have been more focused on marketing.
After school, Martin would like to take over her parent's company in a few years and use her marketing knowledge to grow it. She even took a class with Len Middleton in the Ross School of Business called Family Business.
"I called my mom and joked with her that I learned in my class how to get rid of underperforming family members and she better watch out," said Kelly. "We had a good laugh over it."
That story has been told many times at family gatherings according to Debbie. Kelly and her mom have a very close relationship, talking multiple times of day about topics ranging from business, to online shopping to what happened on Walking Dead.
"I call her on my way to practice every morning," said Kelly. "We are best friends and talk all throughout the day."
Kelly's relationship with her father is also special. The two are like-minded in thinking long term about how to grow a business. But when they talk on the weekends the focus is on water polo.
Martin, a senior captain, is having a great senior year, nearly doubling her career high in goals with 44. She also leads the team with 44 drawn exclusions, a vital part in creating scoring chances during a game.
"My first three years I was never really an offensive threat because I didn't have confidence in my shooting ability," said Martin. "This year, Marcelo (Leonardi) has encouraged me to step up my offensive game, and he has given me that confidence to shoot. I'm not the fastest player in the pool, but I try to be the smartest."
A combination of being intelligent and working hard has turned Martin in to a big threat for the No. 5 Michigan water polo team. She has turned the head of head coach Dr. Marcelo Leonardi.
"The system that we run is predicated on creating advantages and mismatches," said Leonardi. "Not only does Kelly draw exclusions on elite players, she also picks on weaker defenders. She has gotten so good at it that we have several plays just for her."
Whether it is on a drive or a counter attack, Martin reads defenders to try and create a 6-on-5 opportunity for the Wolverines. She has created 113 of those opportunities in her career to rank seventh in Michigan history.
"It is her positioning," said Leonardi. "She knows how to move the perimeter defender where she wants them. Her setup moves are great. Her game as a driver has evolved."
Conversely Martin has only been ejected 46 times, a near 3:1 ratio. The reason for this is what Leonardi calls "intelligent pressure."
"Kelly is very cerebral in terms of intelligent pressure," said Leonardi. "It is the ability to put pressure on someone without fouling."
Martin credits her defense to the technique that Leonardi teaches in practice and the execution of her teammates as to the reasons she has grown into a complete player.
"He helps us with our technique, and we work on it a lot in practice," said Martin. "Playing against my teammates helps me out the most. They help me work on things I have to work on for games. It is knowing when to put two hands up and when to apply pressure."
The same work ethic Martin shows in working for her parents, shows up in the pool and the classroom. She has earned U-M Athletic Academic Achievement honors all four years.
"She has such a high motor," said Leonardi. "She works in fifth gear all the time. I don't think she ever gets tired."
Martin will officially graduate next weekend and will transition back home to Orlando, Florida, to take on more responsibilities within her parent's company, but first there is unfinished business.
The Wolverines will travel to Boston next weekend (April 29-May 1) for the CWPA Championships in hopes of earning a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2010.
