It only took one year for Sergio Macias to lead the Cerritos College women’s water polo team to their first-ever 20-win season. Macias, who came on to take over as the head coach last season, led the Falcons to a 21-11 record and just missed advancing to the Southern California Regional Playoffs. He guided the team to a third place finish in the South Coast Conference and they reached the championship game in five of the six tournaments in which they competed. Additionally, sophomore Berlyn Sanchez, who finished second in the state with 104 goals, became the first Falcon player to be named All-American.

Macias came to Cerritos College with a successful background as both a coach and a player. He started his coaching career with one of the top club programs in the nation, Commerce Aquatics, where he also learned how to play water polo. 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 C.I.F. Div III. Championships and become the first sport in the school’s history to win back-to-back C.I.F. championships titles. He also led his girl’s team to the C.I.F. semi-finals Division I in 2005. Macias was named C.I.F. 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 C.I.F. championships in 1995 and 1996. As a player, he earned the league’s Most Valuable Player, CIF Most Valuable Player, 1^st Team All C.I.F., 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.