Former area CIF champion water polo coach sighted

It's easy to lose track of Chris Carlson.

He's been one of the most successful water polo coaches in the area in the last 10 years, but can't seem to stay at one school.

First, he was at Etiwanda, where he led the Eagles boys to the CIF-SS Division V finals against Upland, but lost 8-7 in the finals.

Then he went to Bonita, where he won CIF titles in his only two seasons as the boys coach there, in 2002 and 2003, in the midst of a five-year run of consecutive CIF titles for the Bonita boys.

From there, it was on to Redlands, where he led the Terriers boys to the 2006 CIF-SS finals.

He was dismissed as coach at Redlands before the school won the CIF-SS title last fall.

I ran into Carlson on Wednesday in Beaumont, where I was watching Ontario play Yucaipa in a CIF-SS first round game. Carlson took over the Beaumont boys and girls water polo programs, an aquatics program just starting up as Beaumont got a pool for its new campus that just opened. He seems to be happy there, but wonders why he can't stay at a school, and hopes he won't be moving on again.

It seems there must be a lack of communication somewhere, either the schools and parents aren't understanding how Carlson runs his program, or Carlson doesn't understand what the administration or parents expect of him.