Building upon four years of developing strong relationships with Diamond Bar High School athletes, boys’ water polo head coach Gary Cheever is now wading into new but familiar territory. He plans to lead the girls’ water polo team as their new head coach, which is looking to overcome the difficulties that the past year presented, on top of his current position.

“My high school water polo coach introduced it [coaching] to me when I graduated,” Cheever said.  “I tried it, and I’ve been at it ever since.

Since then, Cheever has attained 13 years of coaching experience at three different schools—Claremont High School, Chino Hills High School, and Don Lugo High School—as well as club water polo to the playing field, besides teaching at DBHS for the past four years.

“My first head coaching job as a varsity coach was actually the girls’ coach at Chino Hills High School,” Cheever said.

At DBHS, Cheever has already led the boys’ water polo team to several dominant seasons in the pool.

In 2018, the team held an overall record of 20-8 and a league record of 6-0 in the Mt. Baldy League, even being named League Champions and advancing to the CIF quarterfinals. In 2019, they had a 6-5 overall record and 6-0 yet again in the Mt. Baldy League.  During the shortened season in 2020 because of COVID, they maintained a 2-1 overall record even with the hardships presented by social distancing.

In the current season, boys’ water polo is second in the Hacienda League, competing in Division IV, with a 12-17 overall record and 3-1 league record.  This is set to change, as they still have a game ahead of them.

With his previous experience, Cheever plans for the girls’ upcoming season, looking to make up for the graduation of so many seniors during the COVID season.

“Right now, the goal is to get their experience up with a lot of playing time,” Cheever said.  “One thing I’ve been really impressed with is how hard they work, so that’s a great start.” 

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