Golden West names water polo, swim coach

Kyle Kopp has been named the new women’s water polo and swim coach at Golden West College.

For the past seven years, he has served as an assistant coach for the women’s national water polo team and will be in Beijing for the Summer Olympics.

The U.S. women’s water polo team is ranked No. 1 in the world and the favorite to win gold in China.

Kopp is a former Olympian, having competed at the 1996 and 2000 Summer Games.

While with the men’s national team, he helped lead the U.S. to the 1997 FINA World Cup gold medal and two Pan American Games gold medals in 1995 and 1999.

In his playing days at Long Beach State, Kopp was a three-time All-American and All-Big West selection and earned all-tournament team honors at the NCAA Championships in 1988 and 1989.

In 1988, he was named the Big West Conference’s Most Valuable Player after leading all scorers at the NCAA tournament.

During his career he was known for his aggressive style of play and tireless work ethic.

“I am really excited about the opportunity to teach and coach at Golden West,” Kopp said in a statement.

“Huntington Beach is a great location to help with development of water polo in and around our surrounding community.”

— Mike Sciacca