East Bay Girls Water Polo Coach of the Year: Kim Everist of Campolindo

Campolindo High girls water polo coach Kim Everist knew she had a good amount of talent on her team at the start of the year. What the Cougars lacked was leadership, confidence and varsity playing experience.

They returned just two full-time starters from a squad that reached the North Coast Section title game the previous season, both of them juniors with little familiarity directing their teammates.

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In the NCS Division II playoffs, they earned close wins over Marin Catholic (8-6) in the semifinals and Acalanes (8-5) in the final for their first section title under Everist, the Bay Area News Group-East Bay Girls Water Polo Coach of the Year.

"I really think the biggest thing was getting them to play together as a group, and then the confidence-building in those kids that we needed to be key contributors to the team," said Everist, who has led Campolindo to the NCS semifinals in all five of her seasons at the school.