Los Alamitos, CA\u2014The U.S. Water Polo national teams will have an edge from now on that they\u2019ve never had before\u2026full-time coaches. In an announcement
\nhanded down on Sunday (Jan. 14), USWP named Ratko Rudic and Guy Baker head coaches of the men\u2019s and women\u2019s national teams, respectively. Both coaches
\nwill dually serve as National Program Directors, overseeing the development of the sport at every level.<\/p>\n
Made possible by a grant from the United States Olympic Committee, the U.S. hires full-time coaches for the first time in program history. This will allow the U.S. to begin to catch up to overseas programs that have highly professional, highly paid staffs.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the last quadrennium our coaches have split time between school and club programs that gave them little time to breathe,\u201d said U.S. Water Polo Executive Director, Bruce Wigo. \u201cOur national coach and athlete pipeline suffered as our best coaches had little time for developmental programs, such as our Junior and Youth Teams.\u201d<\/p>\n
With both coaches handed the responsibility of enhancing the sport from top to bottom, Wigo believes that U.S. Water Polo might finally be able to rise
\nto the next level.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cNow, with full-time coaches, their experience and talents can be shared,\u201d he said. \u201cIn addition to having the objective to winning gold medals in
\nAthens, we have an ambitious plan to nationalize our great sport. Rather than just having responsibility for our Olympic team, our head coaches will be responsible for developing the sport at all levels. This will also assure continued international excellence for the U.S.\u201d Rudic and Baker boast two of the best resumes in the sport. On the men\u2019s side of the coin, water polo living legend Ratko Rudic will
\ntake the reins as men\u2019s national team head coach and program director. Rudic is one of the sport\u2019s more reputable coaches, with a proven track record of
\nsuccess. In his coaching career, Rudic has been party to four Olympic medals with two different countries, three of them gold. A Rudic-guided Yugoslavia
\nsowed up consecutive golds in 1984 and 1988 before his departure to Italy in 1992, where he wasted no time getting back to the medal stand. At the \u201992 Games, remarkably, Rudic coached his team to gold\u2026for the third time in a row. The Italians came back again in 1996 to win a bronze, but finished fifth in Sydney last summer. As a player, Rudic has been draped in both gold and silver (1968, 1980), winning each with the Yugoslavian national team. Just in case you weren\u2019t keeping count, that\u2019s six total medal runs that have wound up successful for Rudic.<\/p>\n
Rudic\u2019s task, however, will not be an easy one. He inherits a squad that finished sixth in Sydney, but has not enjoyed a medal since its silvery finishes in 1984 and 1988. Other problems include geographic isolation, limited funding for the national team and the most problematic, player availability. The player availability issue has been identified as the major
\nobstacle for our men's team coaches leading up to Sydney. Nearly half of the 2000 Olympic team members play professionally in Europe and are unavailable
\nfor practice and competition until the end of the professional season in June. Most of the other 2004 candidates are still in college where they have
\nacademic demands and are otherwise hindered by NCAA playing restrictions. <\/p>\n
Still other players have full-time employment which restricts their availability to practice and travel with the team. But Rudic is undaunted.<\/p>\n
"There are two very important reasons why I wanted to coach the USA," said Rudic. "First, I believe that the USA has the talent and athletes capable
\nof winning the gold medal. Second, the USA is the strongest nation in the world. It is important for the sport of water polo that the USA team be
\nsuccessful. Yes, there are difficulties, but solutions can and must be found."<\/p>\n
Baker, the first coach to guide a U.S. women\u2019s team through the Olympic bracket, came home from Sydney last October after having led Team USA to the
\nsilver medal. Baker, who was named as the national team head coach in 1998, was also honored as the USWP Coach of the Year. In 2000, \u201cBaker\u2019s Dozen\u201d made it to the championship game of every major tournament in which it participated and took home first place at last July\u2019s Holiday Cup. Before Baker\u2019s arrival, the women\u2019s national team was ranked No. 8 in the world and was not expected to medal in Australia.
\nBaker, 39, will be leaving his position at UCLA, where has coached since 1991. During his time in the Bruin blue and gold, Baker has led his teams to
\nseven national titles, four on the men\u2019s and three on women\u2019s side.
\nRecently, Baker, aside co-head coach Adam Krikorian, led the Bruin men to their second title in as many years at the NCAA Championships.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cI\u2019m pleased that things have worked out the way they have,\u201d said Baker. \u201cThis will give me a chance to do more with our women\u2019s teams, giving us
\nmore of an edge in international play and making our programs stronger at every level.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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