Coaches
The coaching staff and parent committee reflect an impressive pedigree of collegiate water polo players and professional athletes. Our team includes:
8 former college athletes
2 time Olympic water polo medalist
Multiple All American players
Multiple NCAA Division 1 water polo champions
Former NFL lineman
Special Forces Marine
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Tim Kates: (Head Coach) Tim is the head coach of the club, leads the 18u team and assists the 14u team. He is currently the head water polo coach of Junipero Serra High School. Tim majored in sociology and played water polo at UC Berkeley. He continues playing water polo for the Olympic Club in San Francisco where he won a National Championship and
competed in the 2025 Masters World Championship. Tim has won CCS both as a player and a coach. He has been coaching water polo since he graduated from UCB in 2004.
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Steven Olujic: (16u) Steven graduated from Serra High School in 2013, where he was an All-American and set school records for career and single season saves. After high school he graduated from UC Berkeley and currently works at Serra as Retreat Coordinator. Steven has several years of coaching experience with Serra's JV and Frosh/Soph teams.
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Matthew Olujic (16u & 14u) Matthew is the assistant coach at Serra High School, where he played water polo from 2012 until his graduation in 2016. Along with playing at his alma mater, Matthew trained with Golden State Water Polo in San Mateo and VK Jadran Split youth teams in Croatia. He is a local from San Mateo and enjoys watching soccer, weightlifting, and spending time with family and friends in his free time.
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James Mirt: (18u & 14u) James played for Golden State (a former Serra club team) for a number of years. At Serra High School, he played water polo and swam all four years. He won the Defensive Blanket award his senior year at Serra. James went to Austin College and was a four-year member of the varsity water polo team under coach Mark Lawrence.
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​James Giulianotti: (14u & 12u) James started playing water polo at the age of eight in southern California. He was a High School All-America and helped his high school team win their first CIF title his senior year. James continued playing
water polo at UC Davis where he helped the Aggies place third at the NCAA tournament and was an All-American.
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Brett Reynolds (12u) - After graduating from Foothill High school, Brett played for the University of Southern California water polo team as a three-year starter and a scholarship athlete. His 2003 USC team won the NCAA Division 1 championship. Brett spent a summer playing polo in Croatia, Hungary, Serbia and Montenegro (w/USC), and also
played on the US team at the World University Games in South Korea.
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Ellen Estes Lee (12u) Ellen started in the sport at the Marin Water Polo club and followed as a two-sport star at Novato High School. She then parlayed that into a career at Stanford University, earning MPSF Player of the Year honors and Stanford's first NCAA Championship in 2002. Ellen earned Silver at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, the first to offer women's water polo, and Bronze at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. She has served as an Assistant Coach at Harvard University, on the Board of Directors for USA Water Polo and as an athlete representative on the US Olympic Committee Athlete Advisory Council. Ellen is also a member of the USA Water Polo and Stanford Athletics Halls of Fame.
