Clapper Added as Assistant Coach for Arizona State Women’s Water Polo

TEMPE, Ariz., October 3. – TODD Clapper has been hired as the assistant coach of the Arizona State water polo program, Head Coach Vicki Gorman announced Thursday.

Clapper, a former collegiate goalie, joined the team Friday (Oct. 1) as the Sun Devils prepare for their fourth varsity season and second as a member of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF).

"I think Todd is the right person for the job to help bring our program to the next level," Gorman said. "He comes to us with a great deal of head coaching experience from Brown. He was a former goalie and he will be able to add his knowledge and experience to help our defense as well as our shooters. He brings a lot of positives to the job with the amount of people he knows in water polo, as well the experiences he has had over the years in this sport. We are very pleased to have Todd join the Sun Devil program."

Aside from working with the Sun Devil defense, Clapper will be responsible for tracking the team's statistics throughout the season and providing scouting of opponents. He also will be instrumental in the recruiting process, including organizing official visits of potential student-athletes.

Clapper comes to Tempe with a wealth of coaching experience, including stints with collegiate, high school and club organizations. Following his graduation from Slipper Rock University (Slippery Rock, Pa.) in 1997, he stayed on with his alma mater and served as an assistant coach for the women's team for one season. From there, he took on assistant coaching duties at Villanova for one season.

His first head coaching position came a year later when took over the reigns of the Wissahickon High School boys and girl's programs in Ambler, Pa. In his one season with the girl's team, he helped them attain their highest state finish as the team placed third in the Pennsylvania meet.

Following the girl's season at WHS, Clapper took over at Brown University were he also mentored a pair of teams as the head coach for both the men's and women's water polo squads from 1998-2004. Under Clapper, the women earned a berth into the inaugural NCAA Championship event in 2001 while also climbing as high as No. 12 in the national rankings. For his efforts, he earned several coach of the year awards, including New England (2000), Eastern Championship (2001 and 2003), Northern Division (2002) and Northeastern (2004).

Most recently, he served as the head coach for a pair of teams in Las Vegas, including the City of Las Vegas Masters team and the Southern Nevada United (age group) team. He was instrumental in building the two programs as the masters team saw an increase from 10 to 25 members while the age group team was built from the ground up, now totaling nearly 30 members.

Clapper was a four-year letter winner for The Rock, helping the team attain a Top 15 national ranking. As the starting goalie, he captained the team as a senior in 1996, the same year he also was selected second-team all-conference. A walk-on that became the starter in goal by the end of his sophomore season, he graduated Cum Laude with a BS in Exercise Science (aquatic emphasis) and also attained a minor in Adapted Physical Activity and Rehabilitation.

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