Courtesy: USA Water Polo
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.
