Coach of the Year Runner-Up: Ted Minnis

Harvard water polo head coach Ted Minnis took the helm of both of the school’s water polo teams in the fall of 2010. Having just completed his sixth season with the programs, Minnis has taken both the men’s and women’s programs and transformed them into legitimate contenders in the Collegiate Water Polo Association.

This year, Minnis coached the men’s team to a 21-10 record and a third-place finish at the CWPA Division I/II Championship in the fall, then turned around and led the women’s team to a 24-10 record and a sixth-place finish at the CWPA Division I/II Championship in the spring.

The men’s third-place finish tied the program’s highest finish ever in the tournament, and the women’s 24 wins constituted the most regular-season victories in program history. Both Crimson teams also attained peak rankings of No. 13 in the national polls.

The programs haven’t always been known for their success.

“We’re at a place in our program where we’re competing at a very high level and competing to win championships,” Minnis said. “You have to learn how to do that too. We’re learning how to consistently go out and play at a high level on both the men’s and women’s side.

After coaching at Castilleja School, a private, all-girls middle and high school in Palo Alto, Calif., before coming to Harvard, Minnis acquired a men’s team that went 7-17 and a women’s team that was 12-16 in the 2009-10 season. In the half-dozen years since, Minnis has consistently mowed down school records and set new standards for both teams.

Minnis was also named the CWPA Division I/II Coach of the Year for his efforts during the 2014-15 women’s water polo season, the first time that that honor has been bestowed upon a Harvard head coach.

“I think I learn something every day,” Minnis said. “That’s how we grow as a program. We have to be adaptable and able to change. If I’m asking my players to continue to do those things, I need to be able to do it too.”

This type of attitude has been instilled into his teams and has translated to results in the pool. In a changing water polo landscape at Harvard, the ability to adapt and learn on the fly has been an invaluable tool for Minnis.

“That’s why we have so much success,” he continued. “I’m able to say, ‘hey this isn’t working, let’s change it,’ instead of ‘oh, this is my way, it’s got to work, and you got to figure out how to do it.’ We’re learning these lessons and growing as a group, and I think that’s going to help us in the future.”

His players also recognize that these types of intangibles give more insight into the success of a coach than just the story that even his gaudy numbers might tell.

“I think [his success] has a lot to do with how positive of a coach he is,” said women’s water polo freshman Kristen Hong. “He’s really helpful in keeping team morale up. He doesn’t focus on the negative things unless his feedback is very constructive.”

Although both Crimson teams found success this season, perhaps the greatest source of motivation for next year is in knowing that there was room for more.

The men’s team fell to No. 11 Princeton in the 2015 Championship semifinal, forfeiting a chance to play for the crown, while the women’s team fell to No. 19 Princeton in the opening round of the tournament.

“I think we came up a little bit short, but I was very happy with the way we played,” Minnis said of the men’s team.

Meanwhile, the women’s team fell victim to a plague of injuries towards the end of the long season, and a lack of depth contributed to a below-expectations showing at the Championship tournament.

“I’m just a little bummed about how the season ended in terms of having so many girls out with injuries and playing with no subs, only because we all had really high hopes going into it,” said Hong.

Nonetheless, both the men’s and women’s teams are on upward trajectories.

“We want to win a championship,” Minnis said. “We want to go and have a chance to get to NCAA’s and hopefully that’s where we’re headed.”

–Staff writer Bryan Hu can be reached at bhu01@college.harvard.edu.