Pete Cutino
| Peter J. Cutino | |
|---|---|
| Born |
April 3, 1933 Monterey, California |
| Died | September 19, 2004 (aged 71) Monterey, California |
| Spouse(s) | Louise |
Peter J. Cutino (April 3, 1933 – September 19, 2004) was an American swimming and water polo coach and educator for over 40 years and the author of several books and numerous articles on coaching aquatic sports. In his 26 years as head coach at the University of California, Berkeley, his Cal teams won eight NCAA titles. He was the all-time winning coach in U.S. water polo history. His efforts for water sports training, development of facilities for competition and philanthropic support of athletes earned him national recognition. In 1999, the Peter J. Cutino Award was established in his honor by the San Francisco Olympic Club, and is presented annually to the top American male and female collegiate water polo players.
Cutino attended college at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and received a master's degree in education in 1959. At Cal Poly, he made the varsity water polo and swimming teams, was selected three-time water polo all-conference and held multiple school records. From 1958 to 1963, Cutino was head water polo and swimming coach at Oxnard High School, where his swim teams compiled a 64–8 record and five county championships and several Southern California championships, while his water polo team went 80–12.
In 1961, his team played El Segundo High School coached by 1964 Olympic coach Uri Saari. The El Segundo team had several Olympians-to-be on its team. But Pete had home pool and the refs. Home pool had a shallow end, and both the goalie and O hole defender of Oxnard skillfully used the bottom. In a classic momentum shifting tug of war, Oxnard won.
In 1964 Cutino became head coach of both the UC Berkeley men's water polo and swimming programs. In 1974 Hall of Fame coach Nort Thornton took over the swim program, leading Cal swimmers to two national championships.
Cutino directed Golden Bear water polo teams to eight national championships and a 519-172-10 career record during his 25-year tenure. His last team in 1988 won a school-record 33 games on the way to a second straight NCAA title. Cutino coached 68 All-Americans, six Pac-10 and NCAA Players of the Year, and five Olympians.
The Cutino presence at Cal water polo matches was both showmanship and strategy. Known for his passion, he would pace the edge of the pool, shouting and a congratulating, and constantly working the officials. His athletes learned quickly about his training system. "He taught us that anything worth accomplishing would not come without discomfort," recalls Kirk Everist, who played for Cutino at Cal and is now the head coach there. "And he was always there to administer the discomfort."
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