Update: El Toro's Stoll Named CCA's Boys Water Polo Coach of Year
Veteran coach receives California Coaches Assn. honor after leading Chargers to 28-4 record and finals of CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs.
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Update of Wednesday, April 13: Don Stoll, whose record as head water polo coach at El Toro is 656-232 (.739 winning percentage), said of his success: "I have been fortunate to have some very good talent at El Toro and the fact I have been coaching for 40 years (31 at ET) means I should collect a few wins."
In addition to seven section titles, he has led Chargers' boys teams to 18 league titles. The CIF Southern Section held a Masters tournament following the section's playoffs from 2006-08. Competition included each of the division champions and runners-up as well as some wild-card teams. El Toro reached the Masters finals all three years and won in 2008.
Stoll turned to the late Sparky Anderson, former manager of the Cincinnati Reds and Detroit Tigers, for his philosophy about coaching. To paraphrase Anderson's speech during the 2000 Hall of Fame induction ceremonies, Stoll said, "There's two kinds of coaches. One that ain't very smart. He gets bad players, loses games and gets fired. Then there was somebody like me that was a genius. I got good players, stayed out of the way, let 'em win a lot and then just hung around for 40 years."
Original story posted Tuesday, April 12: Don Stoll, veteran water polo coach at El Toro High, is the recipient of the 2011 California Coaches Assn.'s Boys Water Polo Coach of the Year award.
Stoll, who retired as a math teacher at the school last June, served as a walk-on coach this fall, when he guided the Chargers to a 28-4 record, the South Coast League championship and the finals of the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs.
"This is a statewide award that gives much deserved recognition to his coaching excellence and his professional contributions of time, service, and dedication to the profession and athletics," El Toro athletic director John Johansen said in a release.
During Stoll's 31 seasons at the helm, El Toro has reached 11 section championship games. The Chargers have won seven titles, the latest coming in 2009, when they defeated top-seeded Newport Harbor. Earlier that season, Stoll won his 600th game. The Chargers lost to Foothill in the 2008 title match.
El Toro also won section titles in 1988-90, 1992-93 and 2006.
Stoll was also the first girls water polo coach at the school, resigning the position after the 2007-08 season. He led the Lady Chargers to a 212-133 record and four league titles in 12 seasons.
Stoll will receive his award at the 54th annual CCA awards banquet on June 11 in Sacramento.
Martha Spalding Kern
6:48 pm on Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Coach Stoll is an amazing man. He is an icon in the waterpolo world and has served as an amazing role model for all of El Toro, especially the kids in the aquatics program. He makes us proud to be El Toro Chargers and El Toro parents!!! He is the best!!!!!
Scott
5:10 pm on Monday, April 25, 2011
I've been away from Charger Water Polo since we won the 93 championship and I still think about Stoll, his coaching style, those crazy plays that he "dreamed" up the night before. He has an amazing water polo mind, but also combines that with a superior knack for how to expect and get a lot from young men and women trying to figure out far more than just this sport.