Former Wissahickon Water Polo Coach Now Coaching at Arizona State

Todd Clapper began his head coaching career with the water polo teams at Wissahickon High School.  Over a decade later, Clapper is thriving at Arizona State.

“The west is where more people are playing,” said Clapper.  “I figured if I stayed in the sport long enough, I’d make it out to California.  I didn’t anticipate Arizona State.”

Clapper took over as head coach of the women’s team at Arizona State in 2006.   Last season, he led the Sun Devils to a 16-15 record and the number ten ranking in the nation.  Clapper had a career record at Arizona State of 79-70 despite facing some of the best teams in the country each season.

Clapper’s journey to Arizona State began after a head coaching stint at an Ivy League school in Providence.

“I was coaching men’s and women’s water polo at Brown after Wissahickon,” Clapper said.  “I coached there for five and-a half-years and I kind of hit the limit with what I could accomplish there.  I decided it was time to move west.”

Clapper headed to Las Vegas and started a youth program.  Two months after arriving in the desert, the head coach at Arizona State asked Clapper to interview for an assistant coaching position.  Clapper won the job as an assistant, but it only took one year for the head coaching position to open up.

“I came out here as an assistant,” said Clapper.  “I fell in love with the athletic department along with the school and the area.  The head coach decided to move on to pursue a different career.  I was fortunate enough to be in a position where they gave me the job as head coach.”

Clapper’s first head coaching position came at Wissahickon.  He was working as an assistant for his alma mater at Slippery Rock before moving on to work as an assistant at Villanova.  A year later, the opportunity arose in Ambler.  Clapper credits his time with the Trojans as the springboard for his coaching career.

“It was great,” Clapper said.  “It was really cool to be in charge of every aspect.  I was able to shape the young minds, as they say, but also work out the kinks as a coach.  I learned how to run things and how to structure a team.  You develop a culture where the athletes know what to expect every day.”

Clapper was the head coach of the boys and girls water polo teams as Wissahickon in 1998.  The boys team was going through a rebuilding season, but Clapper led the girls to the brink of a state title as they placed third in the Pennsylvania meet.

"The girls team had kind of an older group,” said Clapper.  “The really had a great chance to make the finals before losing to the eventual winners.  The guys had lost 14 of 15 players from varsity the year before, so that was kind of a difference experience.  We had some great improvement even though we took our lumps a long the way.”

Clapper faces several challenges in his quest to bring a championship to Arizona State.  At times, it is difficult considering the level of competition both in the water and with recruiting.

“We’re in a unique position,” Clapper said.  “We’re in the toughest conference in the country.  We’re competing in recruiting with teams that are in California and have a lot of kids in their home state.  For us, recruiting is a challenge.  Part of the process is finding those diamonds in the rough.”

As Clapper prepares for next season, he is hoping to put together a schedule that will keep his team fresh for the conference stretch run.  The conference schedule facing the Sun Devils is traditionally one of the toughest in the country.

“It’s a tough schedule,” said Clapper.  “We’re working on next year’s schedule to try and make it a little bit easier.  It’s hard for us to get some of the games at home where teams warm up for the season.  We played a lot of conference teams and we have the top eight teams in the country in our conference.”

As Clapper continues to look towards the future, he will always remember how his time at Wissahickon set the stage for his successful coaching career