Bio

Almquist guided four women’s water polo teams to the California Community College State Championship, including the 2007 team, which went undefeated. An RCC alumnus, Almquist was the assistant coach of the United States men’s national team from 1984-88, culminating in a silver medal in the Seoul Olympics. Before coming to RCC, Almquist led Poly High School swim and water polo teams to several championships during his two decades of coaching. As an RCC water polo player, he set the then single-season scoring record for goals (60).

David Almquist attended RCC from 1969-1971, playing water polo and setting a single-season record of 60 goals. He went on to start for UC Santa Barbara for two years.Always a keen competitor, he coached at his high school alma mater, Riverside Poly, beginning in 1974. At the time, Inland Empire water polo teams didn’t register on the radar of Orange County powerhouses. Almquist worked hard to change that, meeting with OC coaches and lobbying for scheduled games and entry into tournaments. He finally got the nod, a decision that OC coaches would come to regret.

Jim Dopf, a former RCC coach, remembers Almquist telling him “the Orange County coaches will love us until we win.” That proved to be the case and over 20 years Almquist teams won four Southern Section titles. His success led to a four-year ride as an assistant coach on the U.S. men’s national team and ultimately to the silver medal performance in the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, Korea.

When Almquist arrived at RCC in 1996, the swim team numbered only 11 men and women. Water polo was just a dream. So he did what made him such a successful coach over the years—he jumped in and got to work. During the next 17 years, Almquist succeeded in building one of the most successful swimming, diving, and water polo programs in the state, turning out both men’s and women’s teams. He guided four RCC Women’s Water Polo Teams to California State Community College State Championships in 2005, 2007, 2010 and 2011. The 2007 RCC Women’s Water Polo Team finished undefeated.

Today, Almquist remains one of the most recognized collegiate water polo coaches in Southern California. He’s revered for his deep knowledge of the sport, remembered for his influence in building RCC men’s and women’s swim and dive teams, respected for mentoring fellow coaches, and loved by former players for being a “player’s coach.” Even now, when asked about the 2009 winning streak of 50 straight matches, or the time his team outscored state tournament opponents by a combined score of 41-5, or his Poly High teams that crushed their one-time OC nemesis, he’d rather talk about the personal and academic success of his former players. He takes great pride in their accomplishments, content that his coaching emphasis on unselfish play and team togetherness provided a life lesson for so many.