club information & breaking news

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 Coach Clay has been involved with water polo since beginning playing as an 8th grader in 1998.  He played high school water polo at Parkway North High School in St. Louis county, before playing college club water polo at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  While at Wisconsin he served as captain/coach for this junior and senior seasons.  After a short break, Coach Clay began coaching the Ladue JV water polo team during the 2011 season.  In 2015 he assumed the Varsity coaching duties and has been head coach of the program since.  Highlights during his ten years with the Ladue water polo team include three final four appearances (2011 as an assistant, 2017, 2018), two championship appearances (2011, 2017), and earning Missouri Water Polo Coach of the Year in 2018.  Coach Clay strongly believes that relationship building, character development, and commitment to developing players of all ability levels creates the best possible experience for players.  He wants all of his players to reach their highest potential as polo players by teaching skills, developing confidence, and enhancing character traits.  

 Coach Jagodzinski is from Homer Glen, Illinois where he began swimming and playing water polo his freshman year of High School.  After high school he went on to play water polo at Lindenwood University for 3 years, helping the team win two CWPA D1 national championships. During his time at Lindenwood he began coaching water polo at Ladue Horton Watkins High School as the head JV coach. After graduating in 2018 with a BA in mathematics he added on the additional responsibilities of coaching the girls swimming team and teaching mathematics at Ladue. He is very dedicated to the growth and development of players from a variety of backgrounds and believes anyone who puts in time can be successful at the sport.  

Coach Peglar was born and raised in St. Louis, and started his 48-year involvement with water polo as part of the Missouri State Champion water polo team at Ladue High in 1973.  He graduated from Wash. U, in St. Louis, with a B.S. in Computer Science, as well as two years of graduate CS study, and played and refereed summer club polo, traveling extensively to national-level tournaments.  

He is a certified USA Water Polo coach and referee. He counts as his coaching mentors two legendary St. Louis area coaches; Don Casey and Wally Lundt, and his refereeing mentor, the USA Hall of Fame member Paul Barren.  He refereed several Missouri High School State Championship finals as well as numerous USA Masters and NCAA collegiate tournaments in the Midwest.

He and Mike Clay led the Lions 16-U team to a top-16 finish at the 2021 Junior Olympics in Dallas. He is also is the head water polo coach at Kirkwood High School, leading them to the 2021 State Championship final where they took 2nd place. He was named Missouri Water Polo Coach of the Year in 2021. He also coaches boys and girls swimming and diving at Ladue, helping to lead the Ladue girls to two consecutive top-ten finishes at the Missouri Class 1 State Championships, including a 3rd place podium finish in 2020.  

He founded and leads the Lions for the purpose of growing girls' water polo in St. Louis, and beyond, and is dedicated to seeing student/athletes mature and become outstanding young people. 

 Coach Murdock is from St. Louis where he started playing water polo at age 12 with St. Louis Area Polo (SLAP).  He graduated from Ladue High School and led their water polo team to the state championship final in 2017, in addition to playing for the Clayton Masters club team.  He then attended Lindenwood University and played on their A team, who won the 2019 Men's Collegiate Club National Championship.  He has been coaching with SLAP for six years and is very excited to bring his coaching experience to the Lions as well.

Born and raised on the west coast, Coach Castillo has been playing water polo for 7 years. Her water polo career began in Portland, Oregon as she became one of the most decorated players in the state's history at Lincoln High.  She earned player of the year in the State of Oregon. After her freshman year, her family moved to Southern California which only further strengthened her water polo skills. Her club career skyrocketed, as she played Olympians, as well as the best club programs in the country. After her continued high school and club success, she accepted a full scholarship to play at The University of California Irvine, nationally ranked in the top five Division 1  water polo programs in the United States.

She graduated in 2020 with a Bachelors of Science, Educational Sciences.

After graduating she decided to follow her family to St. Louis to help out during the pandemic. Once things started getting back to normal she was able to continue her educational background by finding a job as a family nanny in the St. Louis area. She is continuing to grow in the educational community and hopes to explore more of what St. Louis has to offer. She is excited to be a part of thee Lions and help grow women’s water polo in Missouri, the community and around the world. 

  Coach Brzyski has been around the sport of water polo since his freshman year at Marquette High School in 2012. During his sophomore year, an injury by his team's varsity goalkeeper gave him an opportunity to step into the cage & he never left. Coach Brzyski went on to break multiple school records as team captain & earn several All Conference & All District honors while leading his team to a 3rd place finish in the 2016 MSHSAA State Tournament. He was also an All-Conference & All-State swimmer & helped his team earn back to back Conference Championships & undefeated dual meet seasons.

Following a strong high school career, he went on to play club water polo at Missouri S&T graduating in 2020 with two degrees in Electrical & Computer Engineering and a Minor in Computer Science. Throughout his college career, Coach Brzyski also played on several USA Water Polo Master's teams in California, Florida, Colorado, & Missouri, helping teams to several first place tournament titles.

Prior to his involvement with the St. Louis Lions, Adam was the Goalie & Splash Ball Coach at Mad Dog Water Polo Club from 2017 - 2018. Outside of the club world, Adam is an Assistant Coach at Marquette High School & has guided several athletes on their path to NCAA level opportunities.   

Dave Miller, a lifelong  St. Louis resident, brings nearly 50 years of coaching and directing experience to the Lions, having managed age group through masters water polo programs, including USA Water Polo clubs, and high school, college club, senior men’s, and women’s water polo teams.  He is a certified USA Water Polo Gold Level coach, has served on the USA Water Polo Board of Directors, is a past president of Missouri Water Polo, and is currently a member of the Missouri Water Polo Hall of Fame.   

He most recently served as the head water polo coach of the Lindenwood University men's and women's programs starting in September 2015. He took over a Lindenwood program that had won the 2014 Collegiate Water Polo Association Men's Division I Club Championship and guided the Lions to their second straight national title in 2015.  He also led the men's squad to national championship victories in 2016 and 2018.  

He also was the head coach at Mehlville High School in St. Louis as well as for MOA Aquatics (Gators Water Polo) since 2013.   

 His list of achievements is quite extensive.  He was the USA Water Polo Volunteer of the Year in 2001 and the Midwest Zone Elite Coach of the Year in 2000.  He served as Assistant USA Water Polo National Youth Team Coach from 1999 to 2001, was Director of Player Development in 12 states for the USA Water Polo Midwest Zone, and he was led the USA Water Polo Midwest Zone Youth and Junior Teams, developing five national team members in the process.  Miller was the head water polo coach at Oakville High School in St. Louis from 1991 to 2000, leading the program to a .890 winning percentage.  He led the Cape Swim Team in Cape Girardeau, Mo., to three undefeated seasons from 1975 to 1978, and headed the Southeast Missouri State University water polo team from 1974 to 1977.  

He also compiled a great track record as a high school and college player.  He earned All-Conference awards every season in that span, played in five AAU Senior Men’s Championships, played and coached on three consecutive Missouri State Championship teams, played on two consecutive California Community College Athletic Association teams, and was named to the All-Southwest U.S. Team in 1977.  

He earned a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education and Physical Science from Southeast Missouri State.  He also spent time at Golden West College in Huntington Beach, California. 

 Scott Summers has been involved in water polo since 1978 as a freshman at SLUH.  Following a successful high school career he went on to play at the University of Kentucky.

    Scott is currently a coach at Marquette High School and a member of the Clayton Men's Masters team.

    He has two daughters. The oldest, Danielle, played at Lindbergh High school. She then went on to play at Colorado State University and Notre Dame College.

    He is excited to be involved with the Lions girls team here in St. Louis and advancing the sport in the area.