Brett Ormsby began coaching at JSerra in 2018 as the Head Boys Water Polo Coach. Coach Ormsby competed in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. A four-time All-American and 2004 National Player of the Year at UCLA, Ormsby completed his standout Bruin career (2001-04) as the school’s second all-time leading scorer and captained his team to an NCAA championship as a senior in 2004.
Ormsby built the water polo program at Cathedral Catholic into a powerhouse, leading them to their first CIF championship in school history in 2009, and then following that up with four consecutive championships from 2012-2015. Following his nine-year stint at Cathedral Catholic, Ormsby spent one year as an assistant at Stanford University before returning to Southern California, and joining JSerra. In 2019, Ormsby's second year at the helm, he led the Lions to their first CIF Championship in school history at the Division 4 Level. Three years later, having risen to the Open Division, Ormsby led the Lions to victory at the North South Championship, the most prestigious high school water polo invitational, as well as a runner up finish in the CIF Open Division and Champion of the CIF Southern California Regional.
Ormsby has also been active on the club front. He is the founder and builder of two of the most successful club programs in the country. He founded Del Mar Water Polo Club in 2008 and served as club director from 2008-2016. He led the club to its first National Championship at US Club Champs in 2012, and to its first Junior Olympic medal in 2013. He continues to support the club from a board position, and loves to see the growth and success the club has experienced in recent years. His son, Gavin, got his water polo start at the club this past year, joining the 10U White team. In 2021, he founded Mission Water Polo Club as an affiliate of DMWPC, with the goal to provide year-around club training and competition for JSerra athletes. Mission has competed in three Junior Olympics (2021-2023), winning their first medal, bronze at 18U level, in 2022. They followed that up with a silver at the 16U level and another bronze at the 18U level in 2023. Mission high school age groups are designed to help prepare the returning JSerra athletes for their upcoming high school season. Beginning in the fall of 2023 Mission will begin to offer age group programming open to everyone. Ormsby's former colleague from Stanford University, Jon Barnea, will lead the age group program.
Ormsby also spent years coaching at the national team level. From 2010-2012 he served as the Head Coach of the Cadet National team. In 2013, he served as Assistant Coach of the Junior National Team. From 2017-2019 he served as Head Coach of the Youth National Team. During his tenure with the national teams he coached in major international tournaments such as Youth and Junior World Championships, gaining amazing experience. In 2020, Ormsby stepped away from the national team in order to be able to spend more time with family, as well as focus more attention on his high school and club teams. He continues to follow the national teams closely, is passionate about the success of our national teams, and appreciates the opportunity to develop athletes at the grassroots high school and club level who can go on to perform for the United States.
Ormsby is a full-time teacher at JSerra. He was a history major at UCLA, and teaching United States History and coaching water polo are two of his great passions. He loves the opportunity to have his athletes in class and to be able to engage with them on the academic side of campus, to interface with their teachers, and to see how the team interacts at break and lunch.
Ormsby is married to 2004 Olympian and UCLA water polo legend, Thalia Ormsby (Munro). They have two kids, Gavin, 9, and Anika, 7, and unsurprisingly the family loves their time around the water, at their local pool, and the beaches of Encinitas, where they reside.
Jon Barnea, who concluded his 16th season with the Stanford University men's water polo program in 2021, was instrumental in establishing Stanford as one of the nation’s premier programs, leading the Cardinal to a 300-95 (.759) overall record. Barnea played a key role in the Cardinal’s success, highlighted by the 2019 NCAA championship, three NCAA title matches, six NCAA appearances, and four MPSF conference championships.
During his time on The Farm, Barnea helped mentor 5 Olympians including Ben Hallock (2020, 2016), Alex Bowen (2020, 2016), Dylan Woodhead (2020), Drew Holland (2020), and Brett Bonnani (2016), as well as 82 All-MPSF selections and 78 All-America selections overall.
Maintaining a culture of academic excellence was also something Barnea valued and helped foster during his time at Stanford, where the program regularly finished as one of the highest academic achieving teams in the country. During his tenure, the Cardinal had over 150 individual selections to All-MPSF Academic Teams, and over 200 individual selections to the American Water Polo Coaches Association All-Academic Teams.
Along with his roles and responsibilities as Assistant Coach at Stanford University Barnea played a major role in the success of the Stanford Water Polo Club, where he served as Director and Head Coach. Under his guidance, Stanford WPC became the largest boys club in the country, and twice received USA Water Polo’s Chairmans Cup Award given to the top boys club program in the country. In addition, Stanford WPC claimed six Junior Olympic Championships, and consistently placed in the top-10 at USWP National Championships. Barnea, and his coaching staff, helped mentor hundreds of athletes who went on to have successful high school and college playing careers. Of the many accomplishments that he looks back on during his time at Stanford WPC, hearing how many program alums are still in touch with each other well after moving on, and, having many former athletes come back to the program as coaches, stand out as some of his favorites.
Prior to arriving at Stanford, Barnea spent 3 years as Head Coach at Palo Alto High School, 2 Years as the Pacific Zone Development Coach, 2 Years as an Assistant Coach for the National Development Team, and 3 years coaching with the Santa Barbara Water Polo Foundation.
Barnea also serves as the Director of Olympic Sports for REPS, a virtual reality sports performance training platform. REPS services both teams/organizations, as well as individual consumers, in developing and deploying training content that focuses on improving pattern recognition and the decision-making processes for athletes.
Barnea graduated from UCSB in 2002 with a degree in Anthropology. He and his wife Teresa have two boys, Asher (12) and Desmond (10).
Drew Clute embarked on his coaching journey at Pitman High School, where he served from 2007 to 2011as the programs only second ever head coach for both the water polo and swimming teams. During this tenure, he led the boys water polo program to school record finishes in both league and in CIF. It was also during this time that he was named Head Coach of the boy’s high school age-group for Modesto-Stanislaus Water Polo Club. In 2011 he accepted a position as assistant coach for Stockton Water Polo Club’s U18 boys team, where he also assisted in the development of the boy’s high school age-group.
In 2011, Drew ventured into a new chapter by relocating to Southern California, where he joined the staff at Tustin High School and continued his coaching career with SOCAL Water Polo Foundation. However, this transition to Orange County was short lived when he moved back to the Central Valley after accepting a teaching and coaching position at Clovis West High School.
From 2012 to 2018, Drew served as a special educator within the school’s Vocational Education Program as a Special Resource Program (RSP) Specialist. He was also named as the associate head coach for the boys varsity water polo team. In 2015 he co-founded the Royal 559 Water Polo Academy, where he also served as the U18 Girls Head Coach, as well as club director.
Drew's journey with USA Water Polo began in 2007 when he was named head coach for the boys ODP Zone Team. His return to the Central Valley in 2012 saw Drew rejoin USA Water Polo, this time as an assistant coach for both the Boys U15 National Team (2013 to 2015) and later Head Coach of the Boys U13 National Team (2015 to 2017). In 2017, Drew was appointed as USA Water Polo's inaugural Coach Education Manager. In this capacity, Drew leads and oversees the implementation of educational opportunities for coaches nationwide.
In 2018, Southern California beckoned once again as Drew was recruited by newly named head coach, Brett Ormsby, to join his coaching staff. Serendipitously, there was an open position on the academic side within the Horizons Program. Drew embraced this opportunity, assuming roles as not only as the Horizon’s Math teacher, but also as the program's director. In the Spring 2020, he assumed his current position as the Director of Learning and Academic Support, overseeing three individualized support programs that cater to the needs of over 200 students.
A proud graduate of Fresno State University, Drew holds a Bachelor of Arts in Recreation Administration with an emphasis in Community Recreation and Youth Services. Additionally, Drew holds two California Teaching Credentials in Single Subject Social Studies and Secondary Special Education, alongside a Masters in Secondary Education. His commitment to continuous improvement led him to earn a Certificate in School Management and Leadership from the renowned Harvard Graduate School of Education in 2022. Currently, Drew is actively pursuing his School Administrative Credential through USC's esteemed Rossier School of Education.
Beyond his professional endeavors, Drew finds joy in his family life. He is a proud resident of Laguna Beach, where he lives with his wife, Kristen, and their two wonderful daughters, Chloe and Nora.
Coach Brett is highly passionate about coaching water polo and developing athletes into the best versions of themselves both in and out of the pool. Most recently, Coach Brett lead our 12U boys program through their first year during the 2023-2024 competition cycle. During this time, Coach Brett's established our 12U team as one of the top in the country while bringing home top 10 finishes at all major competitions during the year and an 11th place finish at the 2024 Junior Olympics.
In addition to his coaching at Mission WPC, Coach Luch also serves as a Program assistant coach at JSerra Catholic HS working with both the Varsity and Junior Varsity teams. He was an assistant coach on the 2023 JSerra Boys Varsity team that went undefeated and finished the year as the #1 high school team in the nation. Coach Luch is also involved in the ODP program serving as the Head Coach for the SPA Cadet team at the 2024 USWP ODP National Championships.
In addition to his work with Skyline High School, Coach Brett also founded and served as Club Director and Head Coach of a travel water polo club named Utah United that aimed at creating opportunities for student athletes in Utah to compete at the national level. His teams competed in the Junior Olympics, Futures League, and other high end tournaments. Brett also served as the Head Boys Development and then Head Boys Cadet ODP Coach for the Mountain Zone and has helped coach NTSC the past three years. Growing the sport of water polo is a strong passion of Brett’s as he has served as the Director of Development for the Utah High School Water Polo Association and has helped facilitate and run local Utah leagues.
Coach Brett graduated with honors from the University of Utah in 2021, and was a member of UCSD’s and Occidental’s NCAA water polo teams prior to ending his playing career for health reasons. Prior to college, Brett graduated from Carmel HS in 2015 helping the water polo team win two league championships in addition to earning All CCS and League MVP honors.
Outside of the pool, Brett works in the Learning and Academic Support (LAS) Department at JSerra focusing on supporting LAS students in math. In his free time, Brett enjoys outdoor activities such as swimming, hiking, body surfing, and pickleball. He also enjoys supporting his favorite sports teams and is an avid Bucks and Packers fan!
Jon Millers is a Trabuco Hills High School graduate from the class of ‘94. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Liberal Studies with a focus on History, along with a Teaching Credential and a Master’s Degree in Education from Concordia University.
Since 2002, he has been a middle school history teacher in Irvine. During his tenure, Jon transformed Sierra Vista Middle School’s National History Day program into one of the nation’s top programs, consistently sending students to compete at the national level at the University of Maryland. In recognition of his dedication, he was honored as the Patricia Behring National History Day Teacher of the Year in 2016.
Jon’s coaching journey began with the SET Water Polo Club, where he oversaw remarkable growth, expanding the program from 25 athletes to over 200 year-round participants. His coaching prowess led his teams to clinch 6 Junior Olympic championships, and in 2008, SET received the prestigious USA Water Polo Chairman’s Cup. Jon and the coaching team at SET also mentored numerous athletes who later achieved success in both high school and college water polo. One notable alumnus, Garret Danner, who trained under Coach Jon for 5 years, earned the Peter J. Cutino Award while representing UCLA in 2015.
With extensive coaching experience, Jon excels in honing swimming techniques, fostering water polo fundamentals, and advancing high-level tactical skills. He and his wife Lindsay, along with their two sons Colton (12) and Keaton (10), make their home in Laguna Hills.
One of the most accomplished players in UCLA history, Sean Kern joins the Mission WPC coaching staff as an assistant Age Group coach.
Kern’s list of awards is impressive: four-time All-American, two-time National Player of the Year, two-time NCAA champion, three-time UCLA team scoring leader and U.S. Olympic Team member. He was also named to the Pac-12 All-Century Water Polo Team.
Kern led the Bruins to two consecutive national titles and performed best in the big games. He scored four times in UCLA’s improbable 6-5, come-from-behind victory over Stanford in the 1999 NCAA final and notched two more in the 2000 title game win over UC San Diego.
After the 1999 season, Kern was honored as the first-ever male recipient of the Peter J. Cutino Award, the water polo equivalent of the Heisman Trophy. He was also named Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Tournament each of his last two seasons.
Kern went to UCLA in 1997 as the top-ranked recruit in the country. He had led Honolulu powerhouse Punahou HS to three consecutive league titles and personally earned three league Player of the Year awards.
Kern’s dream of reaching the Olympics was realized when he was named to the 2000 U.S. Olympic Team that competed in Sydney. Kern scored three goals in the Olympics and helped Team U.S.A. to a sixth-place finish.
Kern currently works as Senior Director at Cushman Wakefield and focuses on office leasing and tenant representation in the San Gabriel Valley, Inland Empire and North Orange County. Kern and his wife Brooke reside in Foothill Ranch with their two sons, Owen (12) and Drew (9).
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