Now entering his eighth season as the Cerritos College men’s water polo coach, Joe Abing has guided his teams to the Southern California Regional Playoffs each year. Last year, the Falcons posted a 17-11 record and finished in second place in the South Coast Conference. During his time with the program, Abing has made the Falcons a Southern California contender for the state tournament, as he‘s led the them to there twice. During his tenure, Abing has posted a 144-77 record, while they have won more than 20 games three times and 19 games twice.

Back in 2008, the team came in third place in the South Coast Conference and finished with a 23-8 record, while they were defeated in the second round of the playoffs. In 2006 and 2007, they advanced to the second round, but were eliminated one game away from a shot at advancing to the state tournament. From 2004-05, Abing coached his teams to the state tournament, and in 2004 they were the Southern California Runner-up. For his efforts, Abing was named the South Coast Conference Coach of the Year and the Southern California Co-Coach of the Year that season. In his first year (2003), the team posted a 17-13 record and reached the regional playoffs. Along the way, they won the Saddleback Tournament for the first time in school history. Of their 13 losses that year, eight of them were by one or two goals.

Coach Abing anticipates another strong season in 2010, with a strong recruiting class and many returnees. Before Coach Abing’s arrival, the Falcon water polo team was struggling, but his leadership has made for a drastic change within the program. In addition to his success, Coach Abing’s teams have produced 12 All-Americans. Along with his water polo duties, Abing also serves as the men's swimming coach and has had great success with the swim team. Abing was named the conference men’s swimming Coach of the Year last year and in both 2005 & 2007.

Abing came to Cerritos College after spending two seasons as the head coach at Ventura College. He did a solid job with the Pirates, leading them to a 21-11 record in 2002 and helped them advance to the second round of the Southern California Regional Playoffs both seasons. In addition to his duties at Ventura College, he was the swimming coach at Ventura High School since 1995. He also handled the water polo duties at Ventura High until 2000, before taking the job at Ventura College.

Abing came in with great credentials and a solid playing background. When he took over the Ventura High water polo team, they were coming off a 3-19 campaign. By the time he left, Abing had guided his teams to three Channel League championships, two CIF Finals Championship appearances, coached six All-Americans and was named the CIF Coach of the Year in 2000. He also served as the All-County All-Star Coach in 1998 and 1999. As the swimming coach, he led the school to their first two Channel League titles in their history, had seven All-Americans and one CIF champion.

Abing played water polo and competed in swimming at South Pasadena High, where he started on the 1989 CIF Championship water polo team. While in high school, he was named All-League, All-CIF and was named to the San Gabriel Valley All-Star Team. He moved on to Cuesta College, where he played water polo and swam for Terry Bowen, who swam and played water polo at Cerritos College. As a freshman, the Cougars finished second in the state and posted a 32-2 record. Abing decided to no longer compete athletically when he moved on to UCLA, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology with a minor in Social Science in 1995. In 2002, he graduated from Azusa Pacific with a “Masters in Education with an emphasis in Physical Education.” In addition to his duties with the men’s aquatics programs, Abing also teaches a full load of physical education classes.

JOE ABING’S WATER POLO RECORD

YEAR                     RECORD                 ACCOMPLISHMENTS
2003                 17-13                SoCal Qualifier;
2004                 26-7                  State Qualifier; 2^nd Place SoCal;
2005                 23-17                State Qualifier, 3^rd Place SoCal;
2006                 19-11                SoCal Qualifier; 3^rd Place SCC Tournament; 3^rd Place SCC
2007                 19-10                SoCal Qualifier; 2^nd Place SCC Tournament; 2^nd Place SCC
2008                 23-8                  SoCal Qualifier; 3^rd Place SCC Tournament; 2^nd Place SCC
2009                 17-11                SoCal Qualifier; 2nd Place SCC Tournament; 2nd Place SCC
TOTAL             144-77