Pomona-Pitzer Water Polo Coach Alex Rodriguez

Pomona-Pitzer Water Polo Coach Alex Rodriguez recalls his summer in Rio, helping to coach the U.S. men’s team, a “dream come true.”

Rodriguez has helmed the Pomona-Pitzer teams for a decade, leading the women’s team to five conference titles and the men’s team to another four. He considers the opportunity to serve as an assistant coach at the Olympics to be a career high point.

“I am the first in my family to be born in the USA. My family is originally from Cuba and my parents sacrificed a lot to raise me here,” said Rodriguez.

“They came to this country without money, without being able to speak English and with only the clothes on their backs. They did everything they could to give me the typical American upbringing and worked very hard to provide for me. I am a very proud American and coaching for the USA has been a dream come true.”

Rodriguez was first hired by USA Water Polo in November 2013 as the junior/youth team coach, and was elevated to senior team assistant the next year. He led the youth team to a gold medal in the Pan American Games, first gold medal for the team in several years.

At Pomona-Pitzer since 2005-06, Rodriguez was previously an assistant coach at Pepperdine University, where as a student he was an All-American player.

Assisting Rodriguez at the Olympics was Pomona-Pitzer Assistant Water Polo Coach Alex La, who performed filming and other behind-the-scenes work.

La served as interim head coach for the Pomona-Pitzer teams in 2015-16. Prior to joining the Sagehens in 2014, La was head water polo coach at University of La Verne, where he played on the team during his student days. – Contributed by Pomona College