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Los Alamitos boys and girls water polo coach Dave Carlson, a two-time CIF-SS champion, has resigned due to family reasons, the coach and school confirmed Tuesday.
“I’m stepping back from coaching for a while,” Carlson said. “I’m just going to teach (at Los Alamitos).”
With the boys season underway, Robert Grayeli will serve as interim coach for Los Alamitos (5-0), principal Christiana Kraus stated in a message sent to Los Alamitos water polo families.
“Coach Rob Grayeli will be joining us as the interim water polo coach for the remainder of the season for boys’ water polo and supporting girls’ water polo as we conduct a recruitment for the girls’ season,” Kraus stated. “We acknowledge and thank coach Carlson for the time and effort he has contributed to our water polo program.”
Long considered one of the top water polo coaches in Orange County, Carlson has coached through a few stints at Los Alamitos since 1999.
He arrived at the school after guiding the Marina girls to the inaugural CIF-SS Division 1 title in 1998. The Vikings stunned top-seeded and undefeated Long Beach Wilson 7-3 in the finals.
Carlson was selected The Register’s girls coach of the year after the season.
In 2002, he earned The Register’s boys coach of the year honor after leading a Los Alamitos team of mostly sophomores and juniors to a runner-up finish in Division 2.
Two seasons later, the Los Alamitos boys knocked off No. 1 and undefeated Villa Park 8-7 to claim the Division 2 championship. Carlson was again named O.C. coach of the year.
Carlson’s run at Los Alamitos included molding future Olympians Rachel Fattal and Tim Hutten. Fattal is a two-time Olympic gold medalist who played in her third straight Olympics in Paris. Hutten earned a silver medal with the U.S. men in 2008.
Carlson also coached swimming at Los Alamitos.
In the summer of 2021, Carlson was placed on administrative leave as the girls water polo coach at the school. He was later reinstated after a district investigation found minor concerns with his professional conduct.
Grayeli coached the Laguna Beach boys in 2018. He resigned after the season, his first at the helm, after leading the Breakers to the Division 1 playoffs.
A former standout at Costa Mesa, Grayeli has also coached his alma mater and with Golden West College.
“Coach Grayeli is committed to building strong relationships with his players and is focused not only on developing their skills but also on fostering their character,” Kraus stated in her message to families. “We are confident that his leadership will have a positive impact on our program and our students.”
Please send water polo news to Dan Albano at dalbano@scng.com or @ocvarsityguy on X and Instagram
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