View source for Guy Baker

{{short description|American water polo player}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox college coach
| name               = Guy Baker
| image              = 
| alt                = 
| caption            = 
| current_title      = Head coach
| current_team       = Lamorinda Water Polo Club, Director 
| current_conference = [[Mountain Pacific Sports Federation|MPSF]]
| medaltemplates   = 
{{MedalSport | Coach for women's [[water polo]] }}
{{MedalTeam | {{USA}} }}
{{MedalCompetition | [[Water polo at the Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]] }}
{{MedalSilver | [[2000 Summer Olympics|2000 Sydney]] | [[Water polo at the 2000 Summer Olympics|Team competition]] }}
{{MedalSilver | [[2008 Summer Olympics|2008 Beijing]] | [[Water polo at the 2008 Summer Olympics|Team competition]] }}
{{MedalBronze | [[2004 Summer Olympics|2004 Athens]] | [[Water polo at the 2004 Summer Olympics|Team competition]] }}
{{MedalCompetition | [[World Aquatics Championships|World Championships]] }}
{{MedalGold | [[2003 World Aquatics Championships|2003 Barcelona]] | Team competition }}
{{MedalGold | [[2007 World Aquatics Championships|2007 Melbourne]] | Team competition }}
{{MedalSilver | [[2005 World Aquatics Championships|2005 Montreal]] | [[Water polo at the 2005 World Aquatics Championships – Women's tournament|Team competition]] }}
{{MedalCompetition | [[FINA Water Polo World League]] }}
{{MedalGold | [[2007 FINA Women's Water Polo World League|2007 Montreal]] | Team competition }}
{{MedalCompetition | [[Pan American Games]] }}
{{MedalGold | [[2007 Pan American Games|2007 Rio de Janeiro]] | Team competition }}
}}

'''Guy Baker''' was the head coach for the [[United States women's national water polo team]] competed in the [[Water polo at the 2008 Summer Olympics|2008 Beijing Olympic games]].<ref name="USAWNT Olympians">{{cite web|title=Women's Senior National Team - History |url=https://usawaterpolo.org/sports/2018/11/28/sports-w-senior-archive-history-html.aspx?path=wwpolo |website=usawaterpolo.org |publisher=[[USA Water Polo]] |date=28 November 2018 |access-date=5 May 2020 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190517180439/https://usawaterpolo.org/sports/2018/11/28/sports-w-senior-archive-history-html.aspx?path=wwpolo |archive-date=17 May 2019 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.usawaterpolo.org/NationalTeams/WomensNationalTeam.aspx |title=USA Water Polo Women's National Team |access-date=2008-10-30 |archive-date=2008-08-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080810182350/http://www.usawaterpolo.org/NationalTeams/WomensNationalTeam.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref> He is now the Director Of Olympic Development of USA Water Polo.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110608232035/http://www.usawaterpolo.org/SingleNews/08-10-29/Q_A_With_Director_Of_Olympic_Development_Guy_Baker.aspx?ReturnURL=%2fHome.aspx Q&A with Baker]</ref> Baker had guided the team to a silver medal in the [[2000 Summer Olympics]], a bronze medal in the [[2004 Summer Olympics]], and a silver medal in the [[2008 Summer Olympics]] (only players receive a medal at the Olympics),<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://uclabruins.cstv.com/sports/olympics/spec-rel/medalists.html# |title=UCLA Olympian medalists |access-date=2008-08-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080929150143/http://uclabruins.cstv.com/sports/olympics/spec-rel/medalists.html# |archive-date=2008-09-29 |url-status=dead }}</ref> becoming one of the [[List of women's Olympic water polo tournament records and statistics#Most successful coaches|most successful water polo coaches]] in Olympic history. In 2018, he was inducted into the [[USA Water Polo Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Guy Baker (2018) |url=https://usawaterpolo.org/hof.aspx?hof=2 |website=usawaterpolo.org |publisher=USA Water Polo |access-date=18 September 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Hall of Fame Inductees |url=https://usawaterpolo.org/sports/2018/11/28/trads-hof-inductees-html.aspx |website=usawaterpolo.org |publisher=USA Water Polo |access-date=18 September 2020 }}</ref>

==Career==
Prior to becoming the head coach for the national team, he was the water polo coach at [[UCLA]] and [[California State University, Long Beach]], beginning in 1985. At Cal-State Long Beach, Baker was a star player.

===UCLA===
Baker coached both the men's and women's water polo teams to national championships. The men's team won the [[NCAA]] championship in 1995, 1996, 1999 and 2000, while the women's team won the national collegiate championship in 1996, 1997 and 1998. Both of his teams won a national title in the same school year twice (1995–96 and 1996–97), a first for a coach. In his first year at UCLA, he was named American Water Polo Coaches Association Coach of the Year for leading the men's water polo team to a second-place finish in the NCAA tournament.

Baker was inducted into the [[UCLA Bruins#UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame|UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame]] on October 11, 2014.

===Olympics===
At the [[2008 Summer Olympics|2008 China Summer Olympic games]], his American team lost 8–9 in the [[Water polo at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Women's tournament|championship game]] to the Netherlands, and the team took home the silver medal.  "Head Coach Guy Baker has presided over one of the most dominating runs for women’s water polo the last eight years plus and with 10 first time Olympians on the roster the future looks very bright for this group," according to USA Water Polo.

==See also==
* [[United States women's Olympic water polo team records and statistics]]
* [[List of world champions in women's water polo]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Sports links}}

{{Navboxes
|title = United States squads
|bg = #3C3B6E
|fg = #FFFFFF
|bordercolor = #B22234
|list1 = 
{{United States women's water polo squad 2000 Summer Olympics}}
{{United States women's water polo squad 2003 World Aquatics Championships}}
{{United States women's water polo squad 2004 Summer Olympics}}
{{United States men's water polo squad 2005 World Aquatics Championships}}
{{United States women's water polo squad 2007 World Aquatics Championships}}
{{United States women's water polo squad 2008 Summer Olympics}}
}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Guy}}
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Los Angeles County, California]]
[[Category:American male water polo players]]
[[Category:Olympic silver medalists for the United States in water polo]]
[[Category:Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in water polo]]
[[Category:Long Beach State Beach men's water polo players]]
[[Category:Long Beach State Beach men's water polo coaches]]
[[Category:UCLA Bruins men's water polo coaches]]
[[Category:American water polo coaches]]
[[Category:United States men's national water polo team coaches]]
[[Category:United States women's national water polo team coaches]]
[[Category:Water polo coaches at the 2000 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Water polo coaches at the 2004 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Water polo coaches at the 2008 Summer Olympics]]