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Alan Huckins is entering his sixth season as head coach of the Hartwick College water polo program.
Under his guidance, the Hawks have qualified for the NCAA Championships three out of the last five seasons by winning the CWPA Eastern Division Championships. Huckins has posted a 149-51 mark at the helm of the program since his inaugural 2004 campaign.
This past season, Huckins led Hartwick to a 28-11 season, its eighth straight CWPA Northern title, and a berth in the final match of the CWPA Eastern Championships. Huckins has piloted Hartwick to 28 or more wins in each of his five seasons with the Hawks.
In 2007, Hartwick registered a 32-10 overall mark, its second-consecutive Eastern Division title and a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Championships at the US Olympic Training site in Los Alamitos, Calif. The Hawks qualified for the tournament by downing Harvard (16-1), Indiana (15-7) and 18th-ranked Princeton (8-6) en route to another trip out west. After falling to third-ranked USC in opening round, the Hawks returned to down Pomona Pitzer (13-5) and rallied from an 8-0 deficit to down Loyola Marymount 13-12 to finish fifth overall. During the season, Hartwick posted a 14-game win streak between Feb. 17-April 14 in which it out scored the opposition 185-71. The Hawks finished the year fourth in the nation in goals per game (12.2 gpg) and 13th in goals surrendered (7.4 gpg). Hartwick, which placed four players in the top 50 in the country in goal scoring, was led by Kirsten Hudson's 86 tallies on the year. The freshman, who missed six games as she represented New Zealand at the World Championships, garnered honorable mention All-America accolades, as well as being chosen the Eastern Division Rookie of the Year, the MVP of the Eastern Championships, and a first team all-Northern honoree.
In 2006, the Hawks captured their sixth-consecutive Collegiate Water Polo Association Northern Championship by defeating Harvard 10-4, and went on to defeat Michigan 11-8 in the CWPA Eastern Championship finale. That victory over the Wolverines earned the Hawks an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships, where it finished sixth. Hartwick finished the season 28-11 overall. Huckins coached then sophomore Bronwen Knox, a second team AWCPA All-American to a nation's leading 129 goals.
In 2005, Hartwick tallied a 28-9 overall mark and registered an unblemished 7-0 record in divisional play en route to the CWPA Northern Championship crown.
In his first season at the helm, Huckins guided the Hawks to a 33-10 record and an appearance in the 2004 NCAA tournament. Hartwick finished in fourth place behind national champion, the University of Southern California, second-place Loyola Marymount, and third-place Stanford.
During his tenure at Hartwick, Huckins has coached four players receiving All-America accolades. Sheri Johnson ('04), Kate Chambers ('05) and Bronwen Knox were all two-time American Water Polo Association All-America selections. Knox, the nation's leading goal scorer with 129 markers in 2006, left the Hawks following the 2006 season to train with the Australian National team in preparation for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. Junior Kirsten Hudson received AWPCA All-American Honorable Mention in each of the last two seasons.
Huckins, the 2005 and 2006 CWPA Northern Division Coach of the Year, spent the 2002-2003 academic year as head coach of the women's water polo team at Florida Atlantic University, where he recruited for what would have been the program's inaugural season in 2004. However, FAU decided to cut the program, which paved the way for Huckins to take over at Hartwick.
A 1992 graduate of Slippery Rock University, Huckins is an experienced coach on the international, collegiate, high school and club levels.
Huckins served an assistant coach for the United States Women's National Water Polo "A" Team from 1995-1998. He helped guide the team to a sixth-place finish at the FINA World Championships in January of 1998 in Perth, Australia. Huckins also worked as an assistant coach for the U.S. Women's National "B" Team from 1993-1995.
Before his arrival at Florida Atlantic, Huckins spent four years (1998-2002) doubling as the aquatics director and head coach of the men's and women's swimming and diving teams at The College of Saint Rose in Albany. In addition, he also served as head coach and president of the Adirondack Water Polo Club while at St. Rose.
Huckins, a native of San Martin (Calif.) began coaching collegiate water polo as a graduate assistant at Slippery Rock, where he worked with the men's and women's teams during the 1992-1993 academic year. He left Slippery Rock after 18 months to accept the men's and women's head coaching position at Bucknell.
While at Bucknell, Huckins led the men's squad to a 20-10 record and was named 1993 CWPA Coach of the Year at the Eastern Championships. In 1994, he guided the women's team to a 20-4 record and was named CWPA Coach of the Year at the Eastern Championships.
Huckins, after his experiences at Bucknell and with the U.S. National "B" Team, moved back to California to coach the water polo and swimming and diving teams at Beyer High School from 1995-1997. In addition, he also coached the Modesto/Stanislaus Swimming and Water Polo Club teams.
He returned to the collegiate ranks in January of 1997, and spent 20 months as the co-head coach of the men's and women's teams at Slippery Rock.
A three-time All-American water polo player at Slippery Rock, Huckins has served five years (1993, 1994, 1997, 1998, 2003) on the NCAA Women's Water Polo Top 20 Committee.
