Coaching Staff

Erik Makinen – Head Coach and Club Manager
Erik has been playing water polo with Vipers for 10 years – he also coaches and officiates games an tournaments. He started as a volunteer coach and has coached or helped coach all of the Vipers age groups. He completed the Vipers’ Junior Coach Development Program and the NCCP Community Sport certification. He also oversees the Junior Coaches and assists with the administration of the club. He is currently studying geography and environmental studies at Simon Fraser University.

Ally Davies – Coach (16U team)
Ally began playing water polo as a young teenager, and especially enjoyed playing in goal. She co-coaches the U16 team, and when the opportunity presents itself, she continues to play. She is currently at the University of British Columbia in the environmental studies program.

Andrew Cho – Coach (16U team)
Andrew has been involved with water polo for over a decade, including having played in a high performance league. In addition to co-coaching the Vipers U16 team, Andrew also acts a children’s swim instructor.

Brian Pradel – Coach (12U team) – Swim Coach
Brian has been a children’s swim instructor for many years, and brings that experience to Vipers where he helps our water polo players improve their swimming technique.

Jack Baron – Coach (12U team)
Jack began playing water polo with Vipers as a young teenager. Now a student at SFU, he plays the occasional masters level game while acting as the lead coach for the U12 Vipers team.

James MacKinnon – Coach (Splash/8U & 10U teams)
James is another former young Vipers player who has moved on to coaching. He was with the club from his early teens until he aged out. He is currently studying computer science at SFU.