Alan Huckins is entering his 15th season as head coach of the Hartwick College water polo program in the 2017-18 academic year.
In 13 of his 14 seasons as head coach, Huckins has led the team to 20 or more wins. He is one of the winningest coaches in Division I water polo with an overall record at Hartwick of 366-163. Under his guidance, the Hawks have qualified for the NCAA Championships three times and captured three CWPA Eastern Championships.
This past spring, Huckins led Hartwick to a final record of 24-10, third place at the CWPA Championship, and a final national ranking of 14. He was named CWPA Coach of the Year and helped guide Zsofia Polak to honorable mention All-America honors and CWPA and All-Tournament First Team accolades. In addition, freshman Lena Kotanchyan was CWPA Rookie of the Year, the CWPA Championship Rookie of the Tournament, and landed on both the CWPA and All-Tournament First Teams.
The Hawks finished with a 16-14 record and placed fourth in the league in 2016. Hartwick ended the year ranked nineteenth in the nation. Zsofia Polak earned honorable mention All-America honors at the conclusion of the year, marking the fourth straight season at least one Hawk has earned the distinction.
Huckins led the Hawks to a 20-19 overall record and a third-place finish at the CWPA Championship in 2015. For his efforts, he was tabbed Doc Hunkler Coach of the Tournament. The Hawks would finish with a national ranking of 18.
He coached junior Britt Tait to AWPCA honorable mention All-America honors. Zsofia Polak, Tait, and Lara Dendy Young received CWPA recognition.
In 2014, the Hawks finished with a final record of 21-14 and a national ranking of #18. 'Wick had four wins over nationally ranked opponents including two over rival Michigan and one each over Loyola Marymount and Pacific. In the Hawks' 15-8 win over Concordia, Huckins recorded his 300th victory as the Hawks' leader.
Seniors Sami Capparelli and Jemma Dendy Young were both named AWPCA honorable mention All-Americans, to the CWPA Western Division First Team, and the Eastern Championships All-Tournament First Team.
In 2013, Huckins guided the Hawks to a 29-13 record. The Hawks registered wins over two nationally ranked opponents including a 10-6 win over Michigan to claim the CWPA Western Division regular season title.
Junior Sami Capparelli was named the CWPA Western Division Player of the Year and Jemma Dendy Young was named to the First Team. Both players were selected as honorable mention All-Americans.
From 2011 to 2012, Huckins led the Hawks to a record of 54-24. Hartwick defeated seven nationally ranked opponents during those two seasons with Jess Dorman and Charlotte Mensink becoming the seventh and eighth All-Americans in program history in 2011.
In 2010, Huckins guided the Hawks to a 25-6 mark, which is the best season winning percentage (.806) in program history. In addition, the Hawks captured their 10th straight CWPA Northern Division Championship and earned its best ever finish (2nd) at the UC San Diego Triton Invite.
In both the 2008 and 2009 seasons, Huckins led Hartwick to Northern titles as well as appearances in the CWPA Eastern Championship game.
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, CA. 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. 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 eleven players receiving All-America accolades. Kirsten Hudson, the program's all-time leading scorer, was Hartwick's only four-time All-American. Sheri Johnson, Kate Chambers, Bronwen Knox, Jessica McKee, Sami Capparelli, Jemma Dendy Young, and Zsofia Polak 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.
Huckins, the 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2010 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.
