Veteran Edison boys and girls water polo coach Diggy Riley, who helped develop U.S. national team players Danielle Warde and Alys Williams and focused on character development as much as winning, has resigned.
“It’s the perfect time to walk away,” Riley said Wednesday. “I’m tired.”
Riley remains the swim coach at Edison, which features county-ranked boys and girls teams. He is a two-time Register coach of the year in swimming.
He coached the boys water polo team the past 15 seasons, guiding a program once led by his father, Lou, who also coached swim at Edison.
Riley has been the girls coach for the past 11 seasons, reaching the CIF playoffs in his first 10 seasons. Warde and Williams were county standouts under Riley and went on to play for the U.S. national team.
While Edison didn’t win a water polo league title under Riley and were challenged with practices in shallow and small pools, he focused on developing high-character student-athletes who worked hard, were humble and good citizens.
“At the end of the day, I can control that,” he said. “I think kids came out of our program better people, for the most part.”
Riley plans to travel and continue to coach club water polo with the Newport Beach 12-and-under girls.
Interested applicants at the Edison positions can contact rboyce@hbuhsd.edu
