USA
Water Polo has appointed Jovan Vavic interim head coach of the USA Men’s Senior
National Team, effective immediately, according to Christopher Ramsey, Chief
Executive Officer. Vavic, head water polo coach at the University of
Southern California, has led the Trojans to ten NCAA water polo national
championships, including four consecutive men’s titles. A ten-time
national coach of the year, Vavic has compiled a career .859 winning percentage
coaching the USC men.
Vavic will be joined on his interim staff by UCI men’s water polo head coach
Marc Hunt and USC head assistant coach Marko Pintaric, who will serve as
assistant coaches. Hunt led the USA Water Polo World University Games
team to a fourth place finish in 2011, while Pintaric has been an assistant
coach at USC for the last 12 years.
In addition to primary assistant coaches, Stanford men’s water polo head coach
John Vargas will anchor satellite training for the team in the Northern
California area. Vargas was USA Water Polo’s national team coach from
1997-2000. He will be assisted by James Lathrop, current USA Water Polo
Men’s Junior National Team coach and head men’s coach at Miramonte High
School. Jack Kocur, former head coach at Pepperdine University, will
serve as video scout and Rick McKee will serve as team manager.
“Jovan Vavic is a proven winner,” said Ramsey. “His work ethic and
attention to detail is exceptional, and he will be a tremendous leader for our men’s
national team. We have also worked to assemble a staff that reflects the
strengths of our federation as well as our college and high school
systems. We want to work hard together and bring honor to our country,
and I am confident that this group will provide exactly that result.”
“I am honored that USA Water Polo, along with Chris Ramsey, has given me this
opportunity. USA Water Polo has a long and proud tradition, and its talented
teams have won three medals in the last two Olympic Games. We have great
potential here in the United States with some of the best young water polo
players in the world. I am excited to work together with these coaches and
athletes to create a powerful and successful team that will make USA Water Polo
proud.” said Vavic.
The team selected by Vavic will represent the USA at the Union Americana de
Natacion (UANA) World Championship Qualification Tournament in Calgary, Canada,
January 28th to February 2nd. The United States men did not qualify for
the FINA 2013 World Championships at the London Olympic Games, and therefore
must compete against teams from at least Canada and Brazil to gain a
berth. The FINA World Championships are being held this summer in
Barcelona, Spain.
After the qualification event, USA Water Polo will appoint a men’s national
team head coach for the remainder of the Olympic quadrennial, who will start
new training and selection for the upcoming FINA World League and World
Championship events.
