Guy Baker was the head coach for the

United States women's national water polo team The United States women's national water polo team represents the United States in international women's water polo competitions and friendly matches. It is one of the leading teams in the world since the late 1990s. On March 27, 2009, USA Water ...

competed in the

2008 Beijing Olympic games The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nati ...

. He is now the Director Of Olympic Development of USA Water Polo. Baker had guided the team to a silver medal in the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

, a bronze medal in the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

, and a silver medal in the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

(only players receive a medal at the Olympics), becoming one of the most successful water polo coach in Olympic history. In 2018, he was inducted into the

USA Water Polo Hall of Fame The USA Water Polo Hall of Fame, located in Irvine, California, is a hall of fame dedicated to honoring players, coaches and officials who have contributed greatly to the game of water polo in the United States of America. It was established in 1976 ...

Career

Prior to becoming the head coach for the national team, he was the water polo coach at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

and

California State University, Long Beach California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities i ...

, beginning in 1985. At Cal-State Long Beach, Baker was a star player.

UCLA

Baker coached both the men's and women's water polo teams to national championships. The men's team won the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

championship in 1995, 1996, 1999 and 2000, while the women's team won the national collegiate championship in 1996, 1997 and 1998. Both of his teams won a national title in the same school year twice (1995–96 and 1996–97), a first for a coach. In his first year at UCLA, he was named American Water Polo Coaches Association Coach of the Year for leading the men's water polo team to a second-place finish in the NCAA tournament. Baker was inducted into the

UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pac-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). ...

on October 11, 2014.

Olympics

At the 2008 China Summer Olympic games, his American team lost 8-9 in the

championship game In sport, a championship is a Competition#Sports, competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match sy ...

to the Netherlands, and the team took home the silver medal. "Head Coach Guy Baker has presided over one of the most dominating runs for women’s water polo the last eight years plus and with 10 first time Olympians on the roster the future looks very bright for this group," according to USA Water Polo.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Guy Year of birth missing (living people) Living people People from Los Angeles County, California American male water polo players Olympic silver medalists for the United States in water polo Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in water polo Long Beach State Beach men's water polo players Long Beach State Beach men's water polo coaches UCLA Bruins men's water polo coaches American water polo coaches United States men's national water polo team coaches United States women's national water polo team coaches Water polo coaches at the 2000 Summer Olympics Water polo coaches at the 2004 Summer Olympics Water polo coaches at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Career

UCLA

Olympics

See also

References

External links