The UCLA athletics department named the new head coaches of the
men’s and women’s water polo teams in a press release Wednesday
afternoon.
Current assistant Adam Wright was tabbed to lead the men’s program,
while fellow assistant Brandon Brooks will lead the women’s team. Both
coaches played for UCLA and served in key assistant roles under
departing coach Adam Krikorian, who is leaving to take over the U.S.
Women’s National Team.
Wright and Brooks also represented the United States as players at
the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games. Both were four-time All-America
selections in their playing days at UCLA.
Brooks has taken to the coaching route since his graduation in 2002.
He led the Los Angeles Water Polo Club’s boys 16-under team from 2006
to 2008.
As a top assistant specializing in instructing goalkeepers, Brooks
will continue to work alongside Krikorian as he takes on his national
team duties. Brooks expressed his joy at inheriting a women’s team that
has won five consecutive national titles and looks forward to
restocking the system with young talent.
“I’m deeply honored and incredibly excited to take the reins of the
UCLA women’s water polo program,” he said in a press release. “We
return a terrific group of veterans and are thrilled about our incoming
class of freshmen.”
Wright excelled as a player on the international scene following the
end of his UCLA career in 2000, playing for a variety of club teams in
Europe and helping the U.S. national team win numerous medals from 2001
to 2008.
In addition, Wright was an assistant coach for both the men’s and
women’s programs at Wilson High School in Long Beach from 2001 to 2004.
Wright will continue to work with Krikorian, who remains with the men’s team as an associate coach.
“It is an honor to continue the great tradition established at UCLA,
and we have a lot of work to do,” Wright said in a press release. “I am
excited to have the chance to work with Adam Krikorian, and we look
forward to getting started this summer.”
In finding successors for Krikorian, UCLA Athletic Director Dan
Guerrero looked in-house for candidates who shared many of Krikorian’s
valuable traits.
“Both (Wright and Brooks) love the game and are extremely
hardworking,” Guerrero said in a press release. “They are tough but
very personable, and there is no doubt that our student-athletes, both
current and future, are going to enjoy playing for them. They are
excellent leaders and will work tirelessly to keep both programs among
the nation’s best.”