Born: March 18, 1975 in Tarzana, CA
Jack Kocur was a prep standout at Royal High School in Simi Valley, California. During his senior year he was selected as the 1992 Ventura County Player of the Year and the Marmonte League’s Most Valuable Player for Water Polo. A three-time All-Marmonte League first team selection and two-time All-American, Kocur registered 372 career goals at Royal High, where he also lettered in baseball and swimming. In 1993, in his senior year of baseball, he was selected to the All-Ventiura County Baseball Team. Royal High School recognized his senior athletic achievements by awarding him the school’s Athlete of the Year in 1992-93.
Also during his high school career, Kocur was a member of the U.S. Junior National Team from 1989-93, and helped the American squad win the gold medal at the 1989 Junior Pan American Games in Mexico and claim first place at the 1993 Canadian Open.
During his collegiate career at Pepperdine University, Kocur tallied 138 goals and set the school record with 28 two-point goals. He was an All-American third team selection as a sophomore in 1994 and an honorable mention choice during his junior campaign in 1995. A co-captain of his senior year in 1997, he achieved All-American first team as the Waves rolled to a 25-3 record and won the National Championship. Pepperdine defeated local rival USC by a final score of 8-7 in overtime in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to claim the school’s first-ever NCAA water polo title. Kocur received his B.S. in Sports Administration, skills he continues to use in his coaching career.
Following his collegiate playing career, Kocur went on to compete for over 6 years for the USA Men’s National Team, and helped them win numerous tournaments. He then enjoyed the chance of a lifetime playing professionally in Spain and Greece.
In between years of playing overseas, Kocur began his coaching career at Harvard-Westlake High School in 1998, and then moved to Oaks Christian High School in 2002. In the fall of 2002 he returned to coach at Pepperdine as an assistant coach, and later became the Head Coach for Pepperdine in the fall of 2006. During the 2007 season Kocur posted a record of 27-10, the most wins by a Pepperdine team in more than 25 years. In 2008, Kocur was named MPSF Co-Coach of the Year as the Waves went 21-7, earning a No. 2 national ranking. During his time at Pepperdine he was part of the 2 winningest seasons in Pepperdine’s history (NCAA Champs 1997 and No. 2 national ranking in 2008).
In 2012 Kocur became an assistant coach for the USC Men’s Water Polo Team and helped the Trojans to their fifth straight NCAA Championship. Kocur also spent time on the staff of the University of the Pacific in 2013, a year that ended with a run to the NCAA Championship match vs. USC.
Kocur joined the Men’s Senior National Team as a video scout coach for the 2012 Olympic Games and was part of the interim staff at the 2013 UANA World Aquatic Championship Qualification Tournament. He joined the full-time USA men’s staff under new Head Coach Dejan Udovicic in the Spring of 2013 and continues to hold this position. Recently, Kocur also accepted the head coaching position at Oak’s Christian High School.