John Abdou

Position: Chief High Performance Officer

John Abdou, a veteran collegiate and national team coach, was named High Performance Director of USA Water Polo on November 18, 2013. In February of 2017 he was promoted to Chief High Performance Officer. In this position Abdou oversees the Olympic Development Program in addition to coach and referee education and development. Working in unison with Senior National Team Head CoachesAdam KrikorianandDejan Udovicic, Abdou assists in implementing their technical vision throughout ODP and the USA Water Polo club system.

Formerly the Associate Head Coach for men's water polo at the University of California-Santa Barbara and Director/Boy's Head Coach of the Santa Barbara Water Polo Club, Abdou will began his post with USA Water Polo full-time following the conclusion of the 2013 men's collegiate season. Prior to his time in Isla Vista, Abdou spent five years at Bucknell University, the last two serving as Head Coach of both the men's and women's programs. Within USA Water Polo, Abdou has remained active in the National Team pipeline in his position as ODP East Region Technical Director since 2008. Since 2010 he has also been a part of the coaching staff of the Men's Senior National "B" Team.

A former social science teacher at Burbank High School, Abdou competed for the UC-Irvine men's water polo team earning his undergraduate degree in sociology in 2001. He added a masters degree in education from Bucknell in 2009. Abdou currently resides in Goleta, CA and will soon live in Huntington Beach, CA with his wife Anna and their son Gabriel.