Longtime coach leaves a lasting mark on Malibu — proving success is measured as much in life lessons as in league titles
When Coach Mike Mulligan started Malibu High’s first boys water polo team in 1991, the players refused to wear swim briefs — the teenagers instead preferred to wear board shorts.
So, when Mulligan scheduled a scrimmage between the high school squad and a group of Agoura High water polo alumni, he directed the older players, a group he coached as high schoolers, to do as much physical maneuvering as possible under the water’s surface.
“I told them to keep pulling on those board shorts,” recalled Mulligan.
Malibu Sharks water polo players have worn swim briefs ever since — and the program has consistently been recognized as one of the best around due to Mulligan.
Mulligan, 61, coached the Malibu boys water polo teams to 20 league titles, four CIF championship matches, and the 2014 CIF Division VI Championship during his years as the team’s head coach. He also won at least 10 coaching awards, including CIF Southern Section Division VI Coach of the Year, Southern California Water Polo Coach of the Year, and California Coaches Association Water Polo Coach of the Year.
It was announced in October that Malibu High’s new pool would be named after Mulligan, who also started the school’s girls water polo and swim teams.
Mulligan, a physical education teacher and experienced lifeguard, credited Malibu’s players and their supportive parents for his coaching success.
“All of the athletes have made me look really good,” he said. “I know I coach, but in the end it’s the kids who are out there running the plays, playing the game. I give them the confidence, fundamentals, and skills, but they have to carry it out. They have done an outstanding job from day one.”
Mulligan turned over the head coaching reins of the boys and girls water polo teams to former Malibu player Hayden Goldberg, his assistant coach, in 2018.
Mulligan, now the team’s assistant coach, called Goldberg a wonderful coach, while Goldberg, a 2004 Malibu graduate, praised his coaching mentor.
“He is the absolute water man,” Goldberg said. “I’ve been lucky enough to coach with him since 2006, and I have learned and continue to learn from him.”
The Sharks have remained competitive under Goldberg, with both the boys and girls teams consistently posting winning records. The girls squad has an 8-5 record heading into its Jan. 13 match against Foothill Tech. The squad was on a three-game winning streak at press time — the latest a 17-3 victory over Villanova Prep.
Mulligan’s water polo life began his freshman year at Agoura High in 1979. He was then the goalie for Valley College’s nationally ranked water polo team and a reserve outfielder on the school’s baseball team. Mulligan transferred to California State University, Los Angeles, in 1984 and played water polo there for two years. He was a graduate assistant coach in his third year before he graduated in 1987.
Mulligan was 22 when he began coaching water polo and teaching physical education at Agoura. He accepted the same roles at Malibu a couple of months before his 28th birthday in 1991.
The coach started the boys water polo team as a club initially. It appealed to athletically minded students and parents because it was the only sport boys could play in the fall and matches were done in 50 minutes.
A benefit for Mulligan coaching in Malibu?
“Every kid could swim,” he said.
The Sharks dove in the water wearing swim briefs their first season as a high school team in 1992 and finished the year with an 8-8 record. Malibu had a winning record the next season and then won the Frontier league in 1994.
“That solidified water polo as a dominant sport at our school, so we always had good kids coming out for the team,” Mulligan remembered. “Winning that league title gave them the confidence and reassurance we could battle with all the big schools and be competitive. We are always one of the smallest enrollment schools in the area playing water polo, but we can compete with the big schools.”
Joshua Watts, a former Malibu water polo player and 1996 graduate, described Mulligan as a talented and respectful coach.
“I haven’t kept up with any teachers from high school except Mike Mulligan,” he said. “He will always hold a special place in my heart.”
Mulligan shifted his coaching philosophy — which emphasized hard work and mastery of water polo’s fundamentals — early in his Malibu coaching tenure. He wanted the team to practice in the morning and afternoon, but the players resisted because they wanted to surf in the mornings. The coach relented and has asked players for their input ever since.
“That makes us so strong,” Mulligan said. “It’s not just the coach. It’s not just the players. It’s the combined group working together to a common goal.”
Mulligan, once a fiery coach, said occasional days off from grueling training help strengthen trust.
“Whether it’s a surf day or, ‘Hey guys, it’s your day,’” he said, “the flexibility is good.”
Mulligan led a talented Malibu squad to a victory over Segerstrom to win the CIF Division VI final in 2014. The Sharks were runners-up in 2008, 2010, and 2013.
Mulligan recalled that 2013 squad as one of the best Sharks teams he coached.
“That team was a machine,” he stated before noting the 2001 bunch who reached the semifinals “played really well together.”
The coach steered the Sharks boys swimming team to a runner-up finish at the CIF Division IV finals in 2015. Mulligan offered Goldberg the head coaching spot because he wanted to have the opportunities to watch his daughters, Makenzie and Madie, participate in their sports while they were in high school and to keep the talented Goldberg at his alma mater.
“Hayden is such a good coach,” he said. “I’m so impressed with what he has done with these kids.” Mulligan admitted the coaching switch was difficult initially because he is such a vocal coach, but he has learned to wait for Goldberg to ask for his input. He now focuses more on coaching up individual players instead of the entire team during a match’s tougher moments. “I’ll remind the kid, ‘You are doing fine. This is what you have to do. You will get another chance,’” Mulligan explained.
He said the Malibu water polo program teaches players how to be good people and work with others along with water polo skills.
Mulligan established Malibu’s annual alumni game in 1998. The spectacle features previous members of the boys and girls teams playing the current Sharks teams in friendly matches nearly every Saturday after Thanksgiving. Last November, around 60 alumni participated in the spectacle. It is Mulligan’s proudest coaching accomplishment.
“That proves to me the kids loved being in high school, they loved playing water polo, and they want to come back and still be part of it,” he stated. “If I was an ass, and they didn’t like me, they wouldn’t come back.”
Bradley Schmidt, a goalkeeper on Malibu’s first boys water polo team, said his high school coach is why he plays in the alumni contest each year.
“Mulligan built this tradition,” he said. “He built this organization, all the camaraderie — he built this program from the ground up.”
Mulligan wants to obtain another accomplishment.
“My goal is to help Coach Hayden win a CIF title as a head coach,” he said. “I’m here to do whatever I can to help that process along.”