Southwestern CC Men's Water Polo

Lopez has played water polo and has been tremendously involved in swimming from a young age. He has participated on various water polo teams throughout his life. Raul was an active athlete with Montgomery High School Water Polo and graduated from Chula Vista High School in 1998. After high school, he became highly involved in coaching USA swimming with the City of San Diego swim team and Sunset Swimming Streamliners where he was selected to coach the Far Western Zone Championship all-star travel team in 2007. Raul is also an Alumnus to the Southwestern College Water Polo team where he played in 2002. He coached Montgomery HS Men/Women Water Polo teams in 2001-2003, including Swimming. He also coached Bonita HS Swimming in 2007 and went on to win the HS title in league championships. What Coach Lopez brings to the table is background knowledge in Water Polo and an even more extensive knowledge in Swimming. He is considered a technician who focuses on basic fundamentals and strongly engages athletes to become conditioned to their full potential, as it is a crucial part to becoming well-rounded water polo players. Raul sees all opportunities as a chance to learn and grow from experiences in hopes for athletes to grasp those same concepts and strive not only in athletics but in academics as well. Raul has helped coach the mens team at Southwestern since 2009 and has had many achievements with individuals as well as the team. He is excited about this season and is determined to help the team advance in search for more great outcomes.

Ortega is now a special education teacher at Eastlake High School. During his time there he helped coach the boys water polo team win their first ever league title. Jorge returns to his Alma Mater and hopes to build a sense of pride of the local players in their community. The amount of talent in the area collectively can compete against any community college in the state. Coach Ortega will use his experience through water polo and education to help his players achieve their goals.