Barnett Out as Olympic Coach

Bill Barnett, coach of the 1988 and ’92 U.S. Olympic water polo teams, is expected to be replaced as national team coach by Richard Corso, coach of Harvard Westlake High School in North Hollywood, a spokeswoman for U.S. Water Polo said Tuesday.

Last Sunday, a five-man selection committee voted to recommend Corso for the position at the U.S. Water Polo annual meeting Sept. 5 in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Barnett, who coached the U.S. team to a fourth-place finish at the Olympics in Barcelona and a silver medal in 1988 at Seoul, was one of six finalists; UC Irvine’s Ted Newland was another.

“I’m disappointed,” said Barnett, 49, who has coached the sport at Newport Harbor High School for 26 years. “But I think the committee of five that made the choice is certainly representative of the interests of water polo.”

Corso, 38, of Van Nuys, was an assistant coach for the U.S. team during the 1984 Olympics, primarily responsible for the goalkeepers.

He has been the water polo and swimming coach at Harvard Westlake for the past seven years. He also spent the past 15 months as national water polo coach for Canada. The Canadian team did not qualify for this year’s Olympic tournament.

“It’s quite frankly a great honor . . . to coach your country’s national Olympic team,” Corso said.

The other finalists were Cal State Long Beach Coach Ken Lindgren, Stanford Coach Dante Dettamanti and Long Beach Wilson High Coach Ricardo Azevedo.

Asked if he thought the U.S. team’s fourth-place finish in Barcelona resulted in the change, Barnett said, “I’m sure it did. . . . There was a lot of finger pointing (in Barcelona), and it’s always at the head coach. That’s how it is. I’ll take that responsibility.”

Barnett coached the U.S. team to its first international title when it won the 1991 FINA World Cup in Barcelona, where he was named the tournament’s outstanding coach. The team won a gold medal at the 1987 Pan American Games.

“It’s been a wonderful experience. I felt I did a good job,” Barnett said. “Seven out of eight years we were always in the top four in the major events--the World Cup, the World Championships and the Olympics.

“Always top four or better. . . . I may be prejudiced, but I think that’s a pretty good record. If any pro or college coach got to the final four of their sport that many times, I think that would be a pretty good feat.”

Barnett said he will continue coaching at Newport Harbor, where he has led the Sailors to 10 Southern Section championships, and likely resume other hobbies.