Ryan Brown Resigns as Assistant Coach for U.S. Olympic Water Polo Team
Ryan Brown, the head coach of the U.S. Men’s Junior National Team and the assistant coach of the U.S. Men’s Senior National Team has resigned both of his positions with USA Water Polo effective immediately. The announcement was made October 22 by the head coach
of the U.S. Men’s Senior National Team, Terry Schroeder. A replacement has yet to be found for the veteran coach who helped bring the team to a Silver Medal finish at the 2008 Olympic Games.
“Ryan has been a vital part of our National Team program for the past five years. He played a huge role in our success in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing as our goalie coach, along with the continued development of Merrill Moses. On top of that, Ryan was
a bit of a jack of all trades as he would fill in where necessary on our staff and help us get the job done no matter what that meant. To say he will be missed is a huge understatement as I have come to know Ryan as a true friend and wonderful peer on our
staff. No doubt, he will be difficult to replace,” said Schroeder.
Brown has been the assistant coach to the Men’s Senior National program since 2006. Earlier this year, in February 2010, he gained the position of head coach for the Men’s Junior National Team where he led the team to a Silver Medal performance at the UANA
Junior Pan American Championships in August. He had originally replaced longtime coach Doug Peabody in an effort by USA Water Polo to streamline the coaching of the Men’s Junior and Senior programs.
“I believe that having one of the National Team assistants run the Junior program is a great way for us to keep consistency in our program. I believe that by doing this we will keep the kids involved with the National Team at a higher level and they will be
more aware of the expectations of the National team,” stated Schroeder at the announcement of Brown’s placement as the Junior National head coach.
Brown started his coaching career at the NCAA Division I level, serving as the head coach of the Women’s University of the Pacific Team in Stockton, California from 2002-2005. As a player, Brown graduated from the University of Pacific as an All-American goalkeeper
for the Men’s team in 2000.
The U.S. Men’s Junior National Team consists of the top male players 20 years and under. They compete in the FINA Junior World Championships every 2 years. The U.S. Men’s Senior National Team is also gearing up to compete at the FINA World Championships of
2011 in Shanghai, China. They will be looking to improve on their fourth place finish in Rome, Italy in 2009 where Serbia won the title for the second time in a row. The US team will be looking to replace Brown’s veteran experience in order for the team to
compete successfully this coming season in order to qualify early for the next Olympic games.
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