Adam Wright (born May 4, 1977) is an American

water polo Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with the ...

player and a college water polo head coach. He was a member of the

United States men's national water polo team The United States men's national water polo team is the representative for the United States of America in international men's water polo. The team is the only non-European squad to win medals in the men's Olympic water polo tournament, most re ...

at the

2008 Beijing 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 Nat ...

. In the championship game, the USA team won the silver medal, defeated by Hungary. On June 3, 2009, Wright was named the head coach of the

UCLA Bruins 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). ...

men's water polo team, having served as its men's and women's water polo team assistant coach.

College

Wright attended

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 played water polo for the

NCAA championship 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 and ...

team. During his years at UCLA, his team won back-to-back NCAA championships in 1999 and 2000. During his senior year, he was named as honorable mention on the

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

team and was on the All-

MPSF The Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) is a college athletic conference with members located mostly in the western United States, although it now has members as far east as Pennsylvania. The conference participates at the NCAA Division I ...

second-team for his 39 goals on 76 attempts. As a junior in 1999, he was named to the All-America third-team and All-MPSF second-team. He had 48 points (second on the team), 27 assists (first), and 39 steals. At UCLA, Wright was coached by

Guy Baker Guy Baker was the head coach for the United States women's national water polo team competed in the 2008 Beijing Olympic games. He is now the Director Of Olympic Development of USA Water Polo. Baker had guided the team to a silver medal in the 20 ...

, the former USA women's water polo team coach.

Career

Wright is now the head coach of the

men's water polo team, after serving as an assistant coach for both the men's and women's teams. He was a member of the 2004 and 2008 USA water polo team. Wright, a driver, played tough defense and was a good scorer. At the

2007 Pan American Games The 2007 Pan American Games, officially known as the XV Pan American Games, were a major continental multi-sport event that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 13 to 29, 2007. A total of 5,633 athletes from 42 National Olympic Com ...

, he had four goals to help the American team gain a berth in the Beijing Olympics. Additionally, he scored five goals at the 2007

FINA FINA (french: Fédération internationale de natation, en, International Swimming Federation, link=yes) (to be renamed as World Aquatics by ) is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administer ...

World Championships. After graduation from UCLA with degrees in history and sociology, Wright played water polo for Bissolati Cremona (2007), Civitavecchia in Italy (2006), Nuoto Catania in Sicily (2005–06), and Dynamo in Moscow (2004–05). As an assistant coach at

, his women's water polo team won the 2009

NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship The NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship has existed since the 2001 season. Seven conferences have teams competing in women's water polo: the Big West Conference, the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA), the single-sport Golden Coast Conferen ...

, 5-4 over

USC Trojans The USC Trojans are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC), located in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ' ...

. On December 7, 2014, he led his UCLA men's water polo team to the

NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship The NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship is an annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA men's collegiate water polo. Beginning in 1969, it has been held every year except 2020, when it was postponed to March 2021 because of the C ...

, defeating USC 9–8 at the

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...

Canyonview Pool Canyonview Aquatic Center is the main aquatic center at the University of California San Diego, comprising two Olympic-size swimming pools, bleacher seating, and associated fitness facilities. It is located on the Warren College campus and serves ...

. It was UCLA's 9th title in men's water polo. Wright has since gone on to lead the Bruins to win the national titles for the 2015, 2017, and 2020 seasons, the latter of which was delayed to early 2021 because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

Awards

In 2019, Wright 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 ...

Early years

He attended Long Beach's Wilson High School and played on the school's water polo team. The team won the 1994 Division I CIF championship when he was there and Wright was named 1995 CIF Division I Player-of-the-Year?During his high school playing years, Wright scored 309 goals and was given the All-American honors for three seasons. He was coached by Ricardo Azevedo, his Olympics teammate

Tony Azevedo Anthony Lawrence Azevedo (born November 21, 1981) is a Brazilian-born American water polo player. He is a 2008 Olympic silver medalist and a five-time Olympian (2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016). Azevedo ranks fourth on the all-time scoring list ...

's father, at Wilson.

Personal

Wright was born in

Huntington Beach, California Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County, California, Orange County in Southern California, located southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. The city is named after American businessman Henry E. Huntington. The population was 198,711 duri ...

, and has listed

Seal Beach, California Seal Beach is a coastal city in Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,242, up from 24,168 at the 2010 census. Seal Beach is located in the westernmost corner of Orange County. To the northwest ...

, as his hometown. He is 6'3" tall and weighs 195 lbs. He was married in 2006. His father Steve was a pitcher in a minor league baseball team, and his brother Randy was on UCLA's championship teams of 1995 and 1996.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Adam 1977 births Living people Sportspeople from Huntington Beach, California American male water polo players Water polo drivers UCLA Bruins men's water polo players Water polo players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Water polo players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Water polo players at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for the United States in water polo Water polo players at the 2007 Pan American Games Water polo players at the 2011 Pan American Games Pan American Games medalists in water polo Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States American water polo coaches Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games