Cypress College Women's Water Polo

Bio Cypress College Water Polo Mark Canner is headed into his 10th season as Coach of the Cypress College Water Polo program.  Coach Canner took over as the Cypress College Head Women's Water Polo Coach, as a part-time faculty member, in 2017. Since, he has taken over the program the team has had six postseason appearances for the Women’s team in seven years. Mark has also led the Chargers Women’s Water Polo team to a 3C2A State Top 10 Ranking in (2024,2022, and 2019). After restarting the Men’s Water Polo Program in 2019, Mark has led the team to a top ten state ranking and also two consecutive playoff apparencies in (2023 and 2024). Cypress College Water Polo is one of only three Community Colleges in Southern California to be ranked in the top ten state ranking for both the Men’s and Women’s Water Polo team in the same year (2024).  Coach Mark was honored as the OEC Men’s Water Polo Coach of the Year in 2024. Coaching History Prior to Cypress College, Coach Canner won a state championship as the Assistant Coach at Golden West College, with a perfect 34-0 record. He also won two SCIAC championship as an Assistant Coach at Claremont McKenna College in 2010 and 2012. He was also named SCIAC Coaching Staff of the Year in 2010 and 2012. He helped build a Division I CIF program as the Head Coach at Huntington Beach High School, where he won the program's first Sunset League Championship in 2019. Coach Mark was named Sunset League Coach of the Year in 2019. Coach Mark has also been on the staff for both the boys and girls Olympic Development Program and helped assistant coach legendary Olympic Coach Kyle Kopp with the Women’s Youth National Team. Coach Canner also has strong club connections. He started his career at Greenwich Water Polo Club which turned into the top club program on the East Coast (Greenwich Aquatics). While working in Greenwich Connecticut he put nearly 30 athletes into NCAA Water Polo Programs. He then moved to Foothill Water Polo where he helped build the biggest water polo club in Southern California. While at Foothill Water Polo club Mark helped nearly 40 athletes into NCAA programs. Mark also took his Foothill group in 2009 to the National Championship and won a silver medal. Mark then became the owner of the prestigious Huntington Beach Water Polo Club. As the director and owner of Huntington Beach Water Polo Club for nearly a decade, Mark created one of the premier clubs in Orange County. The club had over fifty National Junior Olympic appearances at all different age levels, countless regional championship tournament gold medals, and two National Junior Olympic Championships under his guidance. He also was able to put over 100 athletes into NCAA programs including two USA Gold Medal winning Women’s team Olympians Alys Williams/ Jordan Raney and National Championship MVP at UCLA and Olympic Goalie Alex Wolf. Athletic Career Mark graduated from Greenwich High School where his water polo team was the East Coast Runner up with a near perfect record of 28-1, Mark was named to the All-East Coast Water Polo Team in 2003. Mark also holds the ERA record for baseball at Greenwich High School and won four straight State Championships for Greenwich High School Swimming. Mark then went on to play water polo and baseball at Whittier College. Mark was the captain of the Men’s Water Polo Team (2005, 2006)  and a key part of the Whittier College Baseball Team #1 ranked SCIAC pitching staff (2005). In 2004 the Whittier College Men’s Water Polo team won their first SCIAC Championships and Division III National Championship. The program then followed that up with a National Championship Runner Up in 2005. Mark graduated with a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology with an emphasis in physical therapy. In 2016 Mark Canner was inducted into the Whittier College Hall of Fame. He went on to graduate with a Masters in Kinesiology from Long Beach State. Mark was honored in 2022 as a tenured professor of kinesiology at Cypress College.

Armstrong began his coaching career in 1982 at Brea Olinda HS where he built the program from one that had never won a league championship or a CIF playoff game in their history to 8 Orange League Titles in water polo and 12 CIF Playoff berths. During the latter part of Coach Armstrong's tenure at Brea he was asked to join the coaching staff at EAST, this not only jump started Brea's program but coaching that level of athlete and with that coaching staff ( Jim Sprague, Jeff Hohne, Doug Kimberly and Galen Diaz ) is where coach Armstrong learned to become a National level coach. In 1994 Coach Armstrong became Co Head Coach of the Pomona Pitzer Colleges Men's water polo program, the Sagehens won their first SCIAC regular season title since 1955 and ended Claremont McKennas 20 year win streak in the Claremont Colleges Rivalry. After a break from coaching Coach Armstrong returned to club coaching at Foothill Club and soon returned to Pomona Pitzer as asst coach and recruiting coordinator, winning SCIAC Titles for Women in 2010 and Men 2011. Currently Coach Armstrong is the boys and girls head coach at La Serna HS in Whittier, in 3 seasons with the boys the Lancers have won 3 Del Rio League Championships and advanced to the semifinals in 2012 & 2014 and the girls have won 2 DRL Titles and advanced to the CIF Finals in 2013 and 2014 winning the CIF Championship in 2014 after moving up to Division 3 for this season the La Serna Girls were ranked #1 in the CIF pre-season poll. In his 3 seasons at La Serna Coach Armstrong has been San Gabriel Valley News Group Coach of the Year 3 times and CIF Girls Coach of the Year in 2014.