Wilbur constantly has water polo on his mind
By Tom Schreier
Because of his teams perennially ranking among the nation's top 20, Keith Wilbur, who has spent the last nine years coaching the men's and women's water polo programs at Santa Clara, became the all-time winningest coach in school history in 2006 and eclipsed the 100-victory mark in 2008.
His men just came off a winning season (19-15) in which they finished No. 14 in the nation and third in their conference (checked). The women are currently 10-6 on the season, and will take the No. 3 seed into the Western Water Polo Association Championship. They entered last season with high expectations after finishing second in the WWPA in 2009, but ended the season 17-16, sixth in the conference.
Wilbur serves as the common denominator between the two teams. The Princeton graduate allows his experience as a student-athlete at an academically-rigorous university to shape his coaching methods and create an atmosphere of understanding in the locker room.
"I think [it's pretty similar]," says Wilbur, comparing the culture at Santa Clara to the one he was exposed to at Princeton. "[At] every college you have the whole gamut of students and student-athletes who are doing different things.
"The guys on this team, I see them having very similar experiences to when I was in college. There's guys who are really into the water polo, totally focused on doing well and they've balanced that and they want to succeed academically. They also have a social life and have fun."
"He really understands being a student-athlete," says Marina Allen, a junior driver from Pleasanton. "I've heard other players on other teams [say], ‘Water polo comes first,' but he reminds us that academics always come first."
"He played before so he brings that perspective, he knows what it's like," echoes senior Stephen Hobbs, a two meter from Walnut Creek. "It's not like he [just] played high school or something, he knows what it's like to play."
Wilbur chose Princeton because his father, who grew up in New York, believed an Ivy League school would give him the best education available.
"I did pretty well in school and so my junior year he took me to Harvard, Yale, Brown, and Princeton. Those are the four Ivy League schools that also had water polo," says the Menlo Park native, who graduated from Menlo School, where he started his coaching career as the boy's varsity coach.
"My thought process when I decided was ‘I know it's a really good academic school and they have a good water polo team,' and my dad was big on it so I picked it."
Wilbur graduated from Princeton in 1996 with a degree in Economics. While serving as team captain his senior season, the netminder led the Tigers to three Ivy League Championships and the 1992 East Coast Championships.
"It's kind of funny," quips Mitch Klipa, a senior center defender from Michigan, "when we go back to [Princeton tournaments] because he won some award when he was there for the most valuable athlete or something and you see his name on a plaque on the wall.He would be the last one to be like, ‘Hey guys check this out.'"
Ali Norris, a sophomore two meter, believes that Wilbur's understanding of the game from a goaltender's perspective allows him to excel as a coach.
"A lot of coaches I have had have been goalies and I think they're just used to seeing the whole pool… so they need to know what is happening on offense and defense," says Norris. "While he's never played my position as a whole set, he's played enough water polo and been on enough teams where he knows what that position should be doing."
A former member of the U.S. National Team in 1997-98, Wilbur will take the women's team to battle in WWPA Championships starting April 29.
Contact Tom Schreier at tschreier@scu.edu or (408) 551-1918.