One of the unusual highlights of our New Zealand trip was an opportunity to watch the Women's Waterpolo World Championships game held at Christchurch, New Zealand.

It was quite thrilling to see No  2  ranked USA beat No 1 ranked Australia to win the National Championship.  What made this team perform so well? Of course it was the talent of

the players, but a lot was owed to inspiration of the coach, Adam Krikorian who has won a total of 14 national championships and titles as player, assistant coach, and head coach of the UCLA Water Polo team. He is the head coach of the United States’ Women’s National Water Polo team.

When you meet Krikorian you are immediately taken with the warmth and friendliness of his smile. "It is always a pleasure to play a great team like Australia and it is nice to win" said Krikorian ,when I asked about  his reaction to the victory. What was the key to the successs?" We worked a lot on the defense strategy and today it came in very hand" said Krikorian.

Now that they had won the World Championship , did he still think they had room to improve? "Oh of course. We are preparing for the Olympics and we have a long way to go. There are so many aspects that you could improve upon". What does the training entail? "For us training includes 3 hours of conditioning in the morning, then lifting weights for about an hour, and finally, about 2.5 to 3 hours of tactic-oriented practice."


A water polo and swimming champion of Mountain View High School,  in California, Krikorian scored a total of 113 goals during his senior year alone! He was then accepted for admission to UCLA right out of high school, and joined UCLA’s water polo team. He later As soon as he graduated, Krikorian was offered the position of assistant coach for the men’s water polo team, and later for the women’s team as well, both of which he gladly accepted. With dedication and hard work his team won 14 national championships – 10 while he was head coach and 3 while he was assistant coach. Krikorian was given the water polo Coach of the Year award numerous times, in 2001, 2004, 2004, 2005, and 2007! UCLA’s 100th NCAA championship was achieved by the women’s water polo team under the coaching of Krikorian in 2007 – the first university to accomplish that milestone in history! And in 2009, he was named NCAA Division I Coach of the Year for the sixth time by the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC).

What is it like to coach a women's team as opposed to a men's team? "The challenges and opportunities are different.  I enjoy coaching women's team because women are better listeners and learners.  They have the patience to understand and thus are able to improve their game tremendously." What makes a  athlete fit enough to play in a world class team? "They need to have good work ethic, a willingness to learn and love for competition" says Krikorian.

How does he hope to raise the profile of the game to bring it more recognition around the world? "Well we need to take it to places like Boston and other east coast cities. Currently it is played mostly in California. If more people start playing the game its profile will automatically rise"

What advice would he have  for young people wanting to become  part of national teams. "Hard work is the most important thing.  The better your work ethic the more likely you are to succeed"

|