Chris Oeding: Mr. Aquatics

Tony Altobelli

Needless to say, Chris Oeding is going to be a busy camper this

year at Orange Coast College, and beyond.

Not only is he the head coach for the men’s water polo and the men’s

and women’s swim teams, Oeding is also the assistant coach for Mike Giles

and the women’s water polo squad.

“I’ve got my hand in all of the aquatic programs here,” Oeding said

with a smile. “This is my fifth season as water polo coach, my first as

men’s and women’s swim coach and my second as women’s water polo

assistant.”

Oh yeah, Oeding is also the captain of the United States water polo

team, which will be making two trips to Sydney, Australia in the near

future.

The first trip down under is the FINA World Championships Sept. 28 to

Oct. 4, followed by the 2000 Summer Olympics in September of next year.

“Our national team has shown moments of brilliance, while at the same

time we know we can be beaten at any time,” Oeding said. “We won the FINA

Cup in 1997 and I think we are one of the top teams in the world. We

definitely have the components of being a medal-winning team at the

Olympics.”

Is it difficult playing and coaching at the same time?

“Actually, I think they complement each other very nicely,” Oeding

said. “Teaching the fundamentals not only helps reinforce them to me, but

playing also allows me to understand what my players are going through

and to keep things in perspective.”

Oeding’s road to success has often been chronicled, but it’s too

impressive not to be mentioned again.

A local product, Oeding played water polo at Corona del Mar High where

he first met one of his biggest coaching influences, current U.S.

National Team coach John Vargas.

“He is my mentor,” Oeding said. “He was the first person to really

teach me the basics of the game and one of the coaches whom I’ve

patterned my coaching style around.”

As a Sea King, Oeding led CdM to back-to-back CIF Southern Section 4-A

water polo titles in 1987 and ’88.

In 1989, Oeding was CIF 4-A Player of the Year and a first-team

All-American selection.

From there, Oeding went to UC Berkeley and led the Golden Bears to

three NCAA water polo championships and a 1992 Co-Player of the Year

honor.

After a brilliant prep and collegiate career, Oeding reached his final

goal: the Olympics, competing at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics, where

the U.S. water polo team placed seventh.

“It’s a dream of any person to make it to that level,” Oeding once

said. “The big dream for anyone who plays water polo is to get a medal at

the Olympics. That’s been my driving force wherever I was in my career.”

Having reached the game’s highest level of play, Oeding knows what it

takes to be successful, something that his players should pay close

attention to.

“We have a very young squad, but there’s a lot of talent there,”

Oeding said. “In my four years here, I haven’t been able to get our guys

to the State Playoffs and that’s something I would like to accomplish

with these guys in the next year or two.”

So how does Oeding, the coach, compare to Oeding, the player?

“I’m very intense and driven, both as a player and as a coach,” Oeding

said. “I’m still very much a student of the game and I want my players to

be the same. I expect my players to practice at a high level and to

maintain a focus on what we’re trying to accomplish. If we do all of

that, I’m the nicest coach in the world.”

When he’s not coaching at Coast or playing in Hungary, Australia or

some other water polo destination, Oeding and his obviously very

understanding wife, Eden, live in Costa Mesa.

“She’s been very supportive and understanding to what I have to do as

a player and a coach,” Oeding said. “She’s an elementary school teacher,

so she definitely knows what the word ‘understanding’ is all about.”