It would be nearly impossible to imagine water polo in San Diego for the
last four decades without thinking of Doug Peabody. From the years he
played for Crawford High School under the legendary Hall of Fame coach
Dick Draz to his time building championship-caliber high school and club
programs, Peabody is deeply etched into the water polo lore of America’s
Finest City. Peabody has coached at every level in the San Diego area
and beyond. He was an assistant head coach for the San Diego State
women’s water polo team. He was the first-ever men’s USA cadet water
polo coach. He also coached the US men’s junior national team to three
consecutive Pan American Championship titles. In 2002, he was named
Developmental Coach of the Year by the United States Olympic
Committee. In 2018, he was USA Water Polo’s Legacy Award Winner.
Peabody’s legacy is also permanently tied to the extraordinary history of
two programs: the San Diego Shores and The Bishop’s School in La Jolla,
California. In 1992, Peabody founded the San Diego Shores, which has
become one of the most successful age-group programs in USA Water
Polo history. The Shores have claimed 35 national championships titles
(including 22 at the Junior Olympics) and developed 450 athletes for
college programs where many became captains, All-Americans and
national champions. Some even reached the pinnacle of the sport, like
2012 Olympic champion Kelly Rulon and national-team mainstays like
Alex Bowen, Brett Ormsby, Moriah Van Norman, and Gabby Stone. At
The Bishop’s School, Peabody has been leading the boys’ and girls’
water polo programs for the past 26 years, guiding them to 32 boys’
and girls’ San Diego CIF Championships - including the 2024 San
Diego girls’ open division title.
Peabody also competed at the 1989 Maccabiah in Israel and, later,
coached the US men’s and women’s teams to Maccabiah gold in 2013.
Even now, he remains a fixture on the pool deck, coaching his children
at both The Bishop's School and the San Diego Shores.