Sports
You can help support this podcast by making a donation via PayPal.Thank you to everyone that has taken the time to leave a review, send me an email or send me a tweet. It has truly meant the world to me!Remember you can reach me on twitter @stevecarrera and on instagram @stevecarrera and you can email me stevegcarrera@gmail.com************************************************************************************************************************From Longbeachstate.comGavin Arroyo is in his 14th season as the head men’s water polo coach at Long Beach State. During his time at LBSU he has compiled a 197-166 record. Under his guidance, the Beach has posted a winning record in seven of the last eight seasons.In 2018, Arroyo led the Beach to a 14-12 overall record and a 3-2 mark in the Golden Coast Conference. The Beach ended the season with a final ranking of No. 5 and made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 27 years.Arroyo is a three-time MPSF Coach of the Year, earning the honors in 2007, 2012, and 2014. During the 2014 season he led the Beach to a 22-7 overall record and a 7-3 conference record. Long Beach State earned a No. 4 national ranking that season--matching the team’s final ranking in 2001 as the highest in program history.In 2012 Arroyo led the 49ers to a 24-8 regular season finish as well as a 4-4 finish in conference play. The historic year led LBSU to its first appearance in the MPSF Tournament since 2008 and ended with a fifth-place finish. Arroyo was also awarded with his second MPSF Coach of the Year award for his efforts. In 2007, Arroyo was selected as the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) co-Coach of the Year after leading Long Beach State to a 17-15 record. During the 2007 season the 49ers upset No. 2 Stanford (7-5) in an MPSF home match and won the Inland Empire Tournament. In his first season in 2006, the 49ers were 11-17 overall and tied for sixth place in the MPSF, picking up two victories over rival UC Irvine.Arroyo is a two-time member of the U.S. Men’s Olympic Water Polo team (1996, 2000) and spent two years as an assistant coach at California.Arroyo worked as an assistant coach for the United States Men’s National Team in the FINA World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea in the summer of 2019.In 2017, Arroyo served as the head coach of the USA Water Polo Men’s Junior National Team at the FINA Junior World Championships in Serbia, leading the Americans to an 8th place finish. The next year, Arroyo served as an assistant coach for the Men’s Senior National Team, working with head coach Dejan Udovicic.In 2005, he served as an assistant coach for the U.S. Men’s Senior National Team planning training schedules, aiding in game preparation, organizing fundraising events, and being responsible for fundamentals, tactic implementation and conditioning.Arroyo started the Long Beach Water Polo Club catering to youth water polo players, both boys and girls, on May 1, 2010. He has also served as the head coach for the Olympic Club of San Francisco men’s team (2004-05) for two years.A 1994 graduate of UC Berkeley with a degree in political science, Arroyo was a first-team All-American at Cal in 1993. He was a part of three NCAA Championship squads at Berkeley (1990, 1991, 1992). Arroyo competed on the U.S. National Team for eight years (1993-2000) helping lead the U.S. squad to numerous championships. The U.S. men’s team won the World Championships in 1994 and 1998, the 1997 FINA Cup and the 1995 and 1999 Pan American Games. He also competed on the U.S. men’s team at the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games. Arroyo competed for seven years overseas playing professional water polo in Greece and Spain with five different clubs (Vouliagmeni, Glyfada, CN Barcelona, Olympiakos and CN Barceloneta). He was a member of the 1998 Greek League championship team and was runner-up in 1997 and 1998 at the European Cup.Arroyo is a native of Southern California, growing up in Orange and earning 1990 Swimmer of the Year and High School Player of the Year honors from the Orange County Register at Villa Park High School.Arroyo and his wife, Erene, have two daughters, Angeliki (5) and Mikaela (born in March 2012).197-166