Adam Krikorian | Team USA Women's Water Polo Head Coach | "Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing"

Adam Krikorian is one of the most accomplished coaches in Olympic history. Since being named head coach of the U.S. Women’s National Water Polo Team in 2009, he has guided the program to unprecedented success: Three consecutive Olympic gold medals (2012, 2016, 2020), six World Championship titles, four World Cup victories, 11 World League Super Final crowns, and a record 69-game winning streak (the longest in international women’s water polo history). Under his leadership, Team USA has held the world’s number-one ranking for much of his tenure.

Before Team USA, Krikorian built his foundation at UCLA, where he captained the Bruins to the 1995 NCAA Championship and his career culminated in 15 national championships across being a player, assistant coach, and head coach. His leadership and integrity have been recognized with honors such as the USOC National Coach of the Year, the Jack Kelly Fair Play Award, and induction into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame.

In this conversation, Adam goes beyond the accolades to share how he has grown as a leader, the role vulnerability plays in high performance, and why he now embraces difficult conversations as opportunities for growth. He also discusses the importance of listening as a coach, how he trains his players to sharpen their focus, and how journaling has become a central practice in his own development.

Here's some notable highlights from our conversation:

[6:04] — Overvaluing Talking as a Leader

[9:28] — Studying Body Language

[14:37] — Defining Consistency

[17:06] — Training and Modeling Focus

[23:44] — Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing

[26:44] — Journaling

[33:09] — Renting Vs. Owning

[39:23] — Vulnerability as a Leader

[45:35] — Keeping Things in Perspective

[50:25] — Growing from Losses

[53:16] — Learning from the 2024 Olympics Finish

[58:42] — Developing Confidence

[1:05:19] — Who Coaches You?

[1:13:23] — The Benefits of Mindfulness

[1:22:51] — Greatest Honor at UCLA

More Resources from Zach:

• For more practical tools and mindset stories, you can subscribe to my free newsletter here: https://winningwithwords.beehiiv.com/
• If you’re a coach or leader striving for more clarity, consistency, and fulfillment, feel free to reach out anytime to see how I can best serve you: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zach-brandon-40169573/