Cuesta College Athletics

John Marsh

Email:

jmarsh@cuesta.edu

Title:

Head Coach

Phone:

805.592.9701

Previous College:

Cal Poly SLO

John became the second head coach for the Cuesta Aquatics program in December 2003 following the retirement of program founder Terry Bowen. He is well acquainted with the program as both an athlete and coach. He led the Cougars’ water polo team to Western State Conference titles in eight of his first dozen seasons as well as back-to back State Championship appearances in 2006 and 2007. John has also mentored almost forty combined men and women’s swimming and diving All Americans since taking the helm in 2004.

John has built an extensive coaching career, which began with four years at Righetti High as an assistant water polo coach and head swimming coach. He then took over both positions as the head coach at Santa Maria High and led that program to a 1991 CIF Title in water polo. After four years at Santa Maria, he left to spend more time in the farming and produce business, while establishing himself as one of the premier referees on the Central Coast. In 2001, the coaching bug again got a hold of John and he took over the Cal Poly SLO men and women’s water polo club teams. In his three seasons with the Mustangs, he led both teams to two National Collegiate Club Titles. After his first year at Cal Poly SLO, John also joined Terry Bowen’s staff as his top assistant in both water polo and swimming.

John began his academic career at Cuesta College and was a two-time All American in water polo. His 178 career goals in 1980-81 still rank third all time for the Cougars. After Cuesta, John transferred to UCLA and joined the Bruins water polo team, which placed third at the 1982 NCAA Championships. He completed both his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Kinesiology at Cal Poly SLO.

John and his wife Debbi, a former Cuesta athlete, live in nearby San Luis Obispo with their daughter, Megan, and son, Eric. Both Megan and Eric competed for Cuesta Aquatics.

The Marsh Swimming & Diving Record

M Swimming W Swimming

W L Conf State W L Conf State

2004 6 1 2^nd 16^th 5 2 2^nd ----

2005 7 1 2^nd 29^th 7 1 2^nd 24^th

2006 7 1 2^nd 17^th 8 0 1^st 15^th

2007 7 1 2^nd 13^th 7 1 2^nd ----

2008 8 1 2^nd 14^th 7 2 2^nd 12^th

2009 8 1 3^rd 26^th 7 2 3^rd 17^th

2010 No Duals 2^nd 24^th No Duals 2^nd 14^th

2011 No Duals 3^rd 24^th No Duals 5^th 26^th

2012 No Duals 2^nd 9^th No Duals 3^rd 14^th

2013 No Duals 1^st 4^th No Duals 5^th 28^th

2014 2 0 2^nd 7^th 2 0 4^th 11^th

2015 No Duals 2^nd 31^st No Duals 2^nd 10^th

2016 No Duals 6^th 30^th No Duals 5^th 29^th

2017 No Duals 4^th 21^st No Duals 4^th 8^th

2018 No Duals 1^st 7^th No Duals 3^rd 12^th

2019 No Duals 4^th 15^th No Duals 2^nd 22^nd

Total 45 6 2 43 8 1

The Marsh Water Polo Record

Overall Conference Playoffs

Year win loss tie win loss place win loss state

2004 16 11 0 3 1 1^st 0 1 -----

2005 24 9 0 4 0 1^st 1 1 -----

2006 27 8 1 4 0 1^st 4 2 3^rd

2007 28 11 0 4 0 1^st 3 3 4^th

2008 18 14 0 3 1 2^nd 0 1 -----

2009 20 14 0 3 1 2^nd 1 2 -----

2010 25 10 0 4 0 1^st 1 2 -----

2011 24 11 0 4 0 1^st 2 1 -----

2012 28 10 0 3 1 1^st 1 1 -----

2013 25 10 0 4 0 1^st 2 1 -----

2014 21 15 0 2 2 3^rd 0 1 -----

2015 21 11 0 2 2 3^rd 0 1 -----

2016 21 16 0 3 1 3^rd 2 2 -----

2017 21 13 0 2 2 3^rd 1 1 -----

2018 22 10 0 3 1 2^nd 1 1 -----

2019 26 9 0 3 1 1^st 2 1 -----

Total 367 182 1 51 13 9 21 22

Western State Conference Coach of the Year

2004 Men’s Water Polo

2005 Men’s Water Polo

2006 Women’s Swim & Dive

2006 Men’s Water Polo

2010 Men’s Water Polo

2011 Men’s Water Polo

2013 Men’s Swim & Dive

2017 Women’s Swim & Dive

2018 Men’s Swim & Dive

2019 Men’s Water Polo

CCCAA State Coach of the Year

2019 Men’s Water Polo

Women's Swimming & Diving