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John Carcich’s respect for the rich history of Villa Park aquatics runs deep as an alumnus of the school.
But his appreciation grew even more personal last week after he reached a major milestone as the Villa Park boys water polo coach.
Carcich earned his 500th career coaching victory in boys water polo as the Spartans defeated Troy 13-10 in the teams’ Freeway League opener.
Sophomore Ethan O’Leary netted seven goals and junior Daniel Barr added 10 steals for Villa Park (10-7, 1-1).
Carcich earned the majority of his victories at Villa Park, where he has coached since 2003. His tally includes 32 wins from coaching one season at both El Modena and Savanna.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity I have had to be able to work in this great community and program for a good number of years with the support of my wife (Lori) and family,” said Carcich, in his 27th season coaching boys.
“That’s a lot of games when you think back and reflect upon it,” the coach added. “And that’s only the boys high school fall season. Then you think about the summer games and other offseason tournaments. Then you think about the girls (program). … Those all add up to a lot of games with a lot of great teams and a lot of great kids and families, including my own two girls at Villa Park.”
Carcich was selected The Register’s coach of the year in 2007 after guiding the Spartans to the CIF-SS Division 2 title, the school’s first section championship since 1981.
In 2004, Carcich and Spartans were 32-0 entering the Division 2 final but lost to Los Alamitos 8-7.
Carcich’s standout players at Villa Park have included Olympians Josh Samuels and Shea Buckner.
Carcich has 236 victories as the Spartans’ girls water polo coach.
He counts former Villa Park coach Jeff Ehrlich as his coaching mentor.
“He’s one of the legendary high school water polo coaches,” Carcich said.