Monte Nitzkowski

Kenneth Monfore "Monte" Nitzkowski (September 7, 1929 – July 28, 2016) was an American former competition swimmer, and water polo competitor for the University of California at Los Angeles, and a Hall of Fame water polo coach for Long Beach City College from 1952-1989, where he led his teams to 32 conference water polo championships in 34 years. He served as a U.S. Olympic Water Polo team coach in 1968, 1972, 1980, and 1984, and was a Pan American Games coach for the U.S. team four times.

Education He was born in Pasadena, California on September 7, 1929 to Victor and Millicent Nitzkowski.

Transferring from Fullerton in 1950, he swam and played water polo for the UCLA Bruins in 1950 and 1951. At UCLA, he captained the swim team, received All-Coast honors in Water Polo, and was a swimming All American. He captured two conference championships at UCLA, and set a new Pacific Coast Conference record for the 200-yard breaststroke. After graduation from UCLA, he began Naval service, and was stationed at the U.S. Naval Academy, where he trained and made the 1952 Olympic Swim team. He dedicated himself to international swimming competition, with the Olympics as an objective.

1952 Olympics Swimming for the United States Naval team, he represented the United States in the 200-meter butterfly at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland, where he finished with the eleventh-best time overall.

Coaching After completing his Naval service, Nitzkowski earned a master's degree in history and teaching credentials from CSU Long Beach in 1955, where he was an instructor. He became one of the world's foremost authorities in water polo while coaching Long Beach City College to 32 conference water polo championships in 34 years and 12 swim titles. Establishing an exceptional record, his Long Beach water polo teams went without a loss for eight consecutive seasons. His Olympic teams won a bronze medal in the Munich in 1972, and a silver in Los Angeles in 1984. His 1980 water polo squad, though considered outstanding, did not participate in the Olympics due to the U.S. boycott.

Honors Nitzkowski was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1991, the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame in 1993, the Fullerton College Athletic Hall of Fame in 2005, and the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame in 2006. In 2016, he was inducted into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame. He was also made a member of the Aquatic Capital Hall of Fame in 2016.

As a lasting legacy, the "Monte Nitzkowski Elite Coaching Award for Water Polo," one of Water Polo's most distinguished forms of recognition, is given in his honor.