Laguna aquatics coach leaves for upcoming son

Laguna Beach High has hired two new head coaches for its aquatics program.

Chad Beeler, head coach of the boys’ and girls’ water polo and swim teams, announced earlier this month that he was stepping down.

On Wednesday, Athletic Director Mike Churchill said Ethan Damato has been hired to replace Beeler, and Kari Johnson will take over the swim program.

Damato had served as an assistant to Beeler in the Laguna Beach aquatics program the past two years.

Johnson coaches club swimming in Mission Viejo, Churchill said.

Beeler, 33, has coached the Laguna girls’ water polo team and girls’ swim teams for the past two years, and he headed the boys’ team last fall for the first time.

During his tenure, Laguna won two Orange Coast League titles in girls’ water polo and in the current school year won league crowns in both boys’ water polo and girls’ swimming.

The girls’ water polo team was CIF-Southern Section Division II runner-up in 2007 and this year reached the semifinal round, but lost in the final seconds to eventual division champion Dos Pueblos.

Beeler said that he was stepping down from coaching due to his wife’s expecting a boy in late June. The couple has a 3-year-old daughter.

“I feel that I need to spend more time with my family,” he said.

“” Mike Sciacca