Juarez Tabbed as Inaugural Head Coach
BROOKLYN, N.Y. – LIU Brooklyn Deputy Director of Athletics Margaret Alaimo announced the addition of women's water polo as the Blackbirds' 21st varsity sport Thursday. In conjunction with this, LIU also announced that Gabby Juarez has been named the inaugural head coach for the program that is scheduled to start play as an associate member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) in 2019-20.
"We are thrilled to officially announce the addition of women's water polo as a varsity sport, and to welcome Coach Gabrielle Juarez to the LIU family!" said Alaimo "This is another great opportunity for us to offer students a chance to further their education and compete at the Division 1 level in the heart of New York City. We love Gaby's passion and energy, and are confident that she has what it takes to build a successful program."
Juarez joins LIU after spending the past year in Brooklyn as a coach at the Brooklyn Hustle Water Polo Club and Mako Water Polo Club in New York City. At Brooklyn Hustle, she served as the program's head coach, coordinating all practices, games and team logistics. She was responsible for building the program's Junior Olympic women's water polo program that saw its 14U girls team participate at the 2018 USA Water Polo Junior Olympics in San Jose, California. She also trained and developed several Olympic Development Program athletes in her time at Brooklyn Hustle and Mako Water Polo Club. In her time at Mako, she helped build the club to one of the top-ranked water polo programs on the east coast.
"I am incredibly thankful to Margaret Alaimo and the administration at LIU for hiring me to start the school's water polo program," said Juarez. "With LIU starting a women's water polo program, we are allowing female athletes another opportunity to play our sport at one of the highest levels. This expansion of the game at the collegiate level is truly special to the water polo community, and I am humbled to be the face of this emerging program."
Prior to coming to the Big Apple, the California native spent two years as a head coach in the Los Angeles area. She spent two years as the head coach of the West Hollywood Aquatics United States Water Polo master's team. There, she coached former Division I talent from across the country to numerous championship games. Juarez was also responsible for doubling the program's membership in her two years with the team.
"It's been my goal since finishing my collegiate career to be a head coach at the Division I level." Juarez said. "I am excited to share my love and knowledge of the game, and to build a highly competitive NCAA Division I water polo team here at LIU and in the MAAC."
Juarez is a 2016 graduate from UCLA, where she competed for the Bruins' water polo team from 2012-2014. In her freshman season, the Bruins won the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation championship before finishing third at NCAAs. After her playing career ended at UCLA, Juarez spent two seasons as a high school head coach in Los Angeles. She broke into coaching at her alma mater, Whittier High School in 2014-15 before spending the 2015-16 school year at Beverly Hills High School.
No comments:
Post a Comment