Meet a Matador: Champion Water Polo Goalkeeper

Please tell us a little about yourself and your history with Miramonte High School.
DH: I graduated from Miramonte in 2013 and have two older brothers who went to Miramonte as well. My oldest brother, Kent, graduated in 2006, and John graduated in 2010. We all played on the water polo team, so I was following in their footsteps. Kent went on to play four years of water polo at Brown University and graduated as their all-time saves leader and an All-American. John went on to play four years of water polo at Claremont McKenna College, and was an All-American and Division III National Champion. Kent now lives with his family in Hermosa Beach, California, working as a vice president of sales in technology. John now lives with his family in Portland, Oregon, working for Nike.

What Miramonte sports, school clubs and/or school activities did you participate in? 
DH: My main school activity, of course, was the water polo team. I also was on the swim team and played trumpet in the Miramonte concert band.

Did you have any favorite Miramonte courses and/or electives? 
DH: I loved Physics and AP Physics with Mr. Shortenhaus, which prepared me a lot for Engineering at Stanford. I also loved AP European History with Mr. Frippiat, but found it super challenging. Band was one of my favorite electives, but with water polo I wasn't able to continue through junior and senior year. I also enjoyed my math classes every year, and English with Lamberti and Simmons, and history with Lathrop and Frippiat.  

What can you say about your time at Miramonte? 
DH: Miramonte prepares students so well for success in college and beyond. In my experience, teachers cared so much about their students, and with all sorts of electives, language classes, and sports being offered, we could participate in tons of extracurriculars. In addition, few schools have the help and volunteer work from parents like Miramonte does. Miramonte offered difficult classes and challenging work that really prepared me to succeed at Stanford and in general.

Can you tell us what you’ve been up to since high school?  
DH: I graduated from Miramonte in 2013 and then went on to the Stanford University Class of 2017. I played water polo for four years at Stanford, where I hold their all-time saves record and was a four-time All-American goalie, winning the MPSF Conference in 2014 and playing in two NCAA Final Fours. I started training and competing with Team USA during the winter of my freshman year. This involved traveling around the world to play in tournaments, friendly games, and have common training with other countries – scrimmages or power play against each other. We also would have training camps, mostly in Los Angeles, throughout the year. In water polo, the major tournaments and most difficult rosters to make are at the end of the summer. These would be the World Championships, or the Olympics every four years. My first World Championships was in the summer of 2017. I've been fortunate to make two Olympic teams – Tokyo and Paris – and five World Championships teams.

Since graduating from Stanford, I have spent much of my time in Europe playing professionally.  After graduating, most Team USA members will play for a professional club in Europe, while also training and playing games with Team USA throughout the year – and having the big tournament (the World Championships or Olympics) at the end of the summer. I have played six seasons in Europe, in Spain and Greece. The past two years, I have played for Peristeri, a club in Athens, Greece. This year I am playing for Telimar, a club in Palermo, Italy, with games starting in October.  

I also was an assistant coach at Stanford for the fall 2019 water polo season and fortunate to be a part of an NCAA Championship that year, in between professional seasons in Europe.  

What is your greatest professional/personal accomplishment?
DH: I would say maintaining a position on Team USA for 10 years now is my greatest accomplishment. This includes two Olympic Games, five World Championships, an Olympic bronze medal, and being awarded Best Goalkeeper in the Water Polo World League in 2021.

How did it feel to win a bronze medal for the U.S. Men’s Water Polo team in the Paris 2024 Olympics?
DH: It felt absolutely amazing, very difficult to describe. Having family and friends there in Paris in person was so awesome, especially after the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, when fans could not attend in person. Our team had been working towards this medal for so long, months and years. The process really began at the start of the Tokyo Olympics cycle. We came so close to a medal in Tokyo, barely losing to Spain in the quarterfinal. We knew that we had the experience and talent to do it, and just felt amazing succeeding in our goal of coming home with a medal. The energy around the Olympics in Paris was wild, and we could feel that energy the whole summer and definitely once the games started. It was also so wild playing in an arena in front of 17,000 people. Our team had played in some big tournaments, but nothing of this scale. So, winning bronze in front of 17,000 people and my family felt like a dream. Honestly, it still hasn't fully sunk in. 

I also had fun chatting about our Miramonte days with Sabrina Ionescu during the Olympic Opening Ceremony in Paris. Sabrina is three years younger than I am, so we overlapped one year at Miramonte. 

Were there any teachers, coaches or other staff members who had a positive impact on you during your time in Miramonte?
DH: Shortenhaus, Lamberti, Simmons, Frippiat, Henderson and Lathrop were some of my favorite teachers. Of course, James Lathrop was also my water polo coach at Miramonte and I owe so much to him, as well as to Bill Brown and Joey Estrada.

Do you still keep in touch with friends, classmates, teachers, coaches and/or staff from Miramonte?
DH: I definitely still keep up with James Lathrop and the other water polo coaches – Bill Brown, Joey Estrada. My high school group chat is still active, and some of my closest friends are my Miramonte classmates and teammates. One of the hardest things about playing professionally in Europe is having to spend so much time far away from all of those friends!

Are there any ways you have stayed connected or involved with Miramonte High School since your graduation? 
DH: I have tried my best to stay connected with the water polo program as best I can. It has been so much fun playing in the water polo alumni game, and seeing all the current athletes, as well as having a little reunion with the alumni. I’ve been able to do a little coaching to help out, and hope to do more in the future after my time playing in Europe.

Do you have any other memories to share about your time at Miramonte that you haven’t already mentioned? 
DH: Well, I always loved the rallies, getting all the students together in the gym for some rah-rah stuff and a funny student video. Additionally, I had more Jack in the Box visits in between class and practice than I'd care to admit to...it was just so close! The Miramonte-Campo and Miramonte-Acalanes rivalries were great, especially in water polo – I really miss those game days. Also, just going to morning and afternoon practices with all of my teammates are some of my favorite memories.

Is there anything else about yourself or your time at Miramonte that you would like to share?
DH: Nothing that I can think of, but GO MATS!!!

PHOTO CREDITS:

Olympic photos: Credit: Jeff Cable Photography  

Miramonte High School photos: Credit: Chris Coufal/Doug Senz