Brian Flacks recently completed his first season on The Farm as The Dunlevie Family Director of Men's Water Polo.
Flacks made a splash in his first campaign with the Cardinal, surpassing Dante Dettamanti's record for the best start by a first-year head coach in 2022, guiding Stanford to a 17-0 record, its best start to a season since 2001. Highlights of the season saw the Cardinal win the MPSF Invite at home, defeating UCLA and California, and advancing to the MPSF Championship game in postseason play, while overseeing All-American efforts from Jackson Painter and Quinn Woodhead.
The fifth head coach in the history of the program, Flacks arrived at Stanford with over a decade of coaching experience at both the prep and national team levels. He had served as the Aquatic Director and Head Boys' Coach at Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles since 2011 and wa the head coach of the United States U-18 National Youth Team, while serving as an assistant for the senior men's national team.
Flacks earned the Monte Nitzkowski Coaching Award in 2019, given by USA Water Polo to the top men's coach in the country. Additionally, he won the Bill Barnett Distinguished Coaching Award in 2014, also given by USA Water Polo to the top youth coach in the country. Flacks is a five-time CIF-SS and Daily News Coach of the Year.
In his time in LA, Flacks established Harvard-Westlake as the top high school program in the country, producing four CIF-SS Division I championships and more NCAA players than any other school.
Alongside his role at Harvard-Westlake, Flacks founded LA Premier Water Polo Club, one of the most successful in the country, and coached the Harvard-Westlake Girls' Water Polo CIF-winning program to one of the longest active winning streaks in the country. He became head coach of Olympic Club, where he coached several notable Cardinal alumni, including Ben Hallock, Drew Holland, Connor Stapleton, Jackson Kimbell, Blake Parrish, Tyler Abramson and Dylan Woodhead. His role as head coach of the Team USA U-18 team for the last four years has seen the team produce success on the international stage while developing, maintaining and evaluating the pipeline of top youth talent in the nation.
A native of Santa Monica, California, Flacks earned his bachelor's degree in history and played two seasons at UCLA, graduating in 2010, before playing one season at Loyola Marymount that fall. Flacks is also an alumnus of Harvard-Westlake School. He features experience as a player for the United States U-17 and U-19 national teams.
Flacks made a splash in his first campaign with the Cardinal, surpassing Dante Dettamanti's record for the best start by a first-year head coach in 2022, guiding Stanford to a 17-0 record, its best start to a season since 2001. Highlights of the season saw the Cardinal win the MPSF Invite at home, defeating UCLA and California, and advancing to the MPSF Championship game in postseason play, while overseeing All-American efforts from Jackson Painter and Quinn Woodhead.
The fifth head coach in the history of the program, Flacks arrived at Stanford with over a decade of coaching experience at both the prep and national team levels. He had served as the Aquatic Director and Head Boys' Coach at Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles since 2011 and wa the head coach of the United States U-18 National Youth Team, while serving as an assistant for the senior men's national team.
Flacks earned the Monte Nitzkowski Coaching Award in 2019, given by USA Water Polo to the top men's coach in the country. Additionally, he won the Bill Barnett Distinguished Coaching Award in 2014, also given by USA Water Polo to the top youth coach in the country. Flacks is a five-time CIF-SS and Daily News Coach of the Year.
In his time in LA, Flacks established Harvard-Westlake as the top high school program in the country, producing four CIF-SS Division I championships and more NCAA players than any other school.
Alongside his role at Harvard-Westlake, Flacks founded LA Premier Water Polo Club, one of the most successful in the country, and coached the Harvard-Westlake Girls' Water Polo CIF-winning program to one of the longest active winning streaks in the country. He became head coach of Olympic Club, where he coached several notable Cardinal alumni, including Ben Hallock, Drew Holland, Connor Stapleton, Jackson Kimbell, Blake Parrish, Tyler Abramson and Dylan Woodhead. His role as head coach of the Team USA U-18 team for the last four years has seen the team produce success on the international stage while developing, maintaining and evaluating the pipeline of top youth talent in the nation.
A native of Santa Monica, California, Flacks earned his bachelor's degree in history and played two seasons at UCLA, graduating in 2010, before playing one season at Loyola Marymount that fall. Flacks is also an alumnus of Harvard-Westlake School. He features experience as a player for the United States U-17 and U-19 national teams.