Now in his fifth season as the women’s swimming and water polo coach, Sergio Macias has turned the Cerritos College aquatics program into one of the best in the state. Last year, the Falcons won their first South Coast Conference championship in school history, while they finished 11^th at the State Championships. Macias was also voted the Conference Coach of the Year, as well as the conference’s Women’s Coach of the Year for his work with the swimming and water polo teams. Along the way, the team broke 13 of the school’s 16 school records, including all five relay races. Additionally, four of the relay teams earned All-American status, as did two freshman swimmers – Jenel Lopez in four individual events and Natalie Peng in three individual events. In his three seasons, Macias has led the team to a 21-8 conference record, while he has coached six All-Americans in a total of 15 events, as well as Lopez, who was voted the conference’s Swimmer of the Year in 2009.

In addition to his duties with the swimming team, Macias has also served as the college’s women’s water polo coach for the last four years. In 2009, they were upset in the Southern California Regional Playoffs and finished with a 29-2 record, which included their second straight South Coast Conference championship. Seeded #2, the Falcons were defeated by rival Long Beach City College in the first round. It was also the same team they defeated to win the 2008 state championship, marking the first time in the school’s history they accomplished the feat. En route to a 31-3 record in 2008, which set the record for most wins in a season, they won a school-record 22 games in a row, which was matched in 2009. In his five years as the water polo coach, Macias led the team to the Southern California Regional Playoffs in four straight seasons, while Macias has been named the SCC Coach of the Year two seasons in a row. He has compiled a 135-26 overall record.

Macias came to Cerritos College with a successful background as both a coach and a player. He started his water polo coaching career with one of the top club programs in the nation, Commerce Aquatics. Macias then took over the Montebello High School water polo team who, at the time of his arrival, had only won one league championship for both the boy’s and girl’s varsity team. In a four-year span, Macias guided both the boy’s and girl’s water polo teams to three consecutive league champions. He guided the boy’s water polo team to back-to-back CIF Division III. Championships and become the first sport in school history to win back-to-back CIF championships titles. He also led his girl’s team to the CIF Division I semi-finals in 2005. Macias was named CIF Coach of the Year in 2003 and 2004, Los Angeles Times Coach of the Year 2003 and Whittier Daily News Coach of the Year 2004.

Macias played age group club water polo with the City of Commerce where he had the privilege to participate in several Junior Olympics and Junior National Tournaments. At Bell Gardens High School, Macias helped lead his team to four consecutive league championships and back-to-back CIF championships in 1995 and 1996. One of his teammates on the boy’s water polo team in high school was Brenda Villa, who has gone on to play in three Olympic Games and is also Macias’ assistant coach on the water polo team. As a player, he earned the league’s Most Valuable Player, CIF Most Valuable Player, 1^st Team All CIF, 1^st Team All-Southern California and 1^st Team All-American honors. Macias was also a member of the USA National Youth Team in 1994. After graduating high school he attended Whittier College where he became the school’s first-ever water polo player to receive SCIAC Conference Player of the Year as a sophomore. While at Whittier College, he was named 1^st Team All-Conference, 1^st Team WWPA, and 1^st Team All-American.

Macias graduated from Whittier College in 2001 with a Bachelors degree in Physical Education and Recreation.  He earned his Master of Science degree in Kinesiology at California State University of Los Angeles in 2005.