Irvine, CA – May 25 – Ethan Damato, a
championship winning coach at the high school, club and national team level,
has joined USA Water Polo full-time as Women's Head ODP Academy Coach. In this
role, Damato will help connect the technical, tactical and team administration
vision of the Senior National Team to the rest of the Olympic Development
Program pipeline.
A coach at prep powerhouse Laguna
Beach High School in Laguna Beach, California, Damato guided his alma mater to
nine CIF Championships including six titles with the girls and three with the
boys. Along the way he coached a variety of elite athletes including Olympic
champions Annika Dries, Makenzie Fischer and Aria Fischer. On the club circuit,
Damato was an integral part of the Saddleback El Toro (SET) Water Polo Club,
helping keep the Orange County based team annually among the best in the
nation.
"I'm extremely excited to have
the opportunity to work in this role with the USA Water Polo and our Women's
National Team program. Our women's senior team has been the standard in the
sport at the international & Olympic level for as long as I can remember. I
feel humbled and grateful to be a part of the pipeline and look forward to working
with our amazing young athletes and coaches on a full-time basis," said
Damato.
"Ethan has been a part of Team
USA for many years whether with a pipeline team, senior team or the Olympic
Development Program. The opportunity to work with him full-time and further his
impact on our program and teams is one that I am genuinely excited about. His
presence and leadership will meet the needs of strengthening the developmental
pyramid in America from top to bottom. The base of the pyramid needs to
continue to get wider and the top of the pyramid needs more touch points. All
of this work is being done with a focus on our path to Paris 2024 and the
journey home to LA 2028 ahead of us," said John Abdou, USA Water Polo
Chief Sport Performance Officer.
No stranger to Team USA, Damato has
long been a part of the Women's National Team program guiding the Youth
National Team to gold medals at various Pan Am competitions. Most recently
Damato led the Women's Senior National Team as Head Coach, claiming bronze at
the FINA Intercontinental Cup earlier this year in Peru.
About USA Water Polo
USA Water Polo, Inc., is the national
governing body for water polo in America, overseeing our United States Olympic
program as well as 20 championship events annually, such as Junior Olympics and
Masters National Championships. With more than 50,000 members, USAWP also is
the sanctioning authority for more than 500 member clubs and more than 400
tournaments nationwide. USAWP is committed to the development of the sport
throughout the U.S., fostering grass-roots expansion while providing a national
system of affiliated clubs, certified coaches, and officials. For more
information, visit www.usawaterpolo.org.
Greg Mescall
Senior Director, Head of Content
& Broadcasting
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