By Michael Randazzo, Swimming World Contributor
Among a number of new head coaches hired the past few months are Dustin Litvak in Princeton and Brett Lathrope at MIT, young, up-and-coming assistants with pedigrees from major West Coast programs who are just beginning their climb up the coaching ladder.
And then there’s David Kasa. After 18 seasons at Long Beach City College, where he shared coaching duties with Chris Oeding, Kasa has moved on, taking the head men’s and women’s jobs at Whittier College. Kasa is no stranger to running a program; for the last seven years—and for much of his tenure at LBCC— Kasa led the men’s program while Oeding coached the women.
In fact, over the past several years—including at the 2016 Rio Olympics—Oeding has been an assistant to U.S. Senior Women’s National Team Head Coach Adam Krikorian, leaving Kasa responsible for both programs. During his tenure the Vikings won seven California community college championships: 2006, 2007, 2013 and 2015 for the men; 2003, 2004 and 2007 for the women.
A product of California’s robust community college polo scene, in 1992 Kasa won a state title with Golden West College before completing his degree at San Diego State. Following successful gigs as an assistant at Orange Coast College and as head coach for the boy’s and girl’s water polo and swimming teams at Canyon High School, where as a school boy he twice earned All-CIF honors, Kasa arrived at LBCC in 2000.
David Kasa. Photo Courtesy: Whittier Athletics
Swimming World contacted the Poets coach to ask about his new position, the challenge of moving to the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC), his connection to prominent SoCal coaches Milos Skaljac—now leading perennial CIF power Mater Dei—Djoko Radunovic and Sasa Branisavljevic of Vanguard Athletics, and what the future holds for the Whittier.
– You go from 18 years working with Chris Oeding at Long Beach City College to now heading up men’s and women’s programs at Whittier. What prompted you to take this coaching opportunity—which entails far more responsibility as well as travel—at this point in your career?
I’ve been looking for a new challenge for a few years but wasn’t willing to move from my family, friends and California. Whittier is very close to our home and family so it was a perfect fit.
I was very excited there was a vacancy at a great academic college with a history of successful water polo. I was also excited for the opportunity to coach men and women in separate seasons. After coaching together for over twenty years it has been and will continue to be a new change to not have Coach Oeding on the pool deck. However, I feel confident that I have been mentored by one of the brightest water polo minds in the world and that I can bring a wealth of knowledge to Whittier College.
Zane Janich. Photo Courtesy: Whittier Athletics
– Given your involvement with LBCC and connections to Vanguard Aquatics, one of SoCal’s premier age group programs, you are as immersed in the California polo scene as anyone. How will your connections allow you to bring local talent to a Poets’ program that has become increasingly reliant on foreign-born players?
At Whittier I want to search for the very best student athletes including local high schools, other states, community colleges and international students. I have been very lucky to coach some amazing student athletes who are now coaching in the area and around the world. I hope to use these connections to recruit great student athletes to Whittier College no matter if they are from California, Oregon or Montenegro.
– The SCIAC has recently become a one-horse conference, with Pomona-Pitzer taking both the men’s and women’s berths the past two years. What will it take to break the Sagehens’ grip on the SCIAC title, and what is your plan to get Whittier back to the NCAA tournament?
I understand that Pomona-Pitzer has recently been a top of the SCIAC division and I have the upmost respect for their team and Alex Rodriguez, Alex La and coaching staff—as well as the many other great coaches in the SCIAC division. I took the job at Whittier College because I believe they have the pieces to compete for a championship every year.
I know it will be a very tough challenge but we plan on setting high goals and working hard to achieve them.
– The Poets have a number of Eastern teams on their schedule, including George Washington, Harvard, Princeton, Washington & Jefferson, Fordham, and Connecticut College. It appears that your program is very compatible with strong East Coast programs; do you imagine both your men’s and women’s teams might travel for matches against these and other Eastern teams?
I would be very excited to do more traveling with our teams and perhaps visit the East Coast and even Hawaii.
Murat Ersoz. Photo Courtesy: Whittier Athletics
– Is 2018 a rebuilding year for Whittier? What’s your plan for the men’s team this fall and what sorts of expectations do you have for your team?
Obviously, I am just getting my feet wet here at Whittier College. However, I believe we have everything necessary to compete for a SCIAC championship. Whittier College has an amazing support staff and excellent strength and conditioning program that sets up our water polo teams for success. We have a great returning roster with Team MVP Murat Ersoz and SCIAC Newcomer of the Year Hans Zdolsek. As are team leading scorer Carlos Heredia Viteri and starting center Cornelis Kriek returning.
We also have some very nice incoming freshmen including All-CIF players Eric Borunda and Ricky Reyes. I like our roster and the men are training extremely hard so I have high expectations that we will compete at a high level.