Longtime Winter Park water polo coach retires

WINTER PARK, Fla. — Every morning starts the same for Winter Park water polo head coach Barry Creighton. 

“In the morning, I stand over here and in the afternoon I stand over there because of the sun,” he said as he walks around the Winter Park swimming pool. “When I come and see the water polo goals set up, it just warms my heart.”

For 37 years, Barry Creighton manned the water’s edge at Winter Park coaching boys and girls water polo. 

His legacy can be seen on the walls in his office, six state championships and 15 times his teams finished the runner up. 

Creighton said his best team was early in his career. 

“I would say the ones that stick my mind the most are the ones we lost,” said Creighton. “In 2001, the boys went 35-0, undefeated. We played everybody. It was a really, really good team. So, they won the next year in 2002 as well.”

This past season was Creighton’s final year leading the Wildcats. 

Over his three-plus decade career, he’s coached hundreds of players. 

But, the two relationships he cherished the most were coaching his son Trevor and his daughter Summer. 

“My only regret is that I didn’t enjoy that more,” he said. “It’s kind of hard to coach your own kids. My son graduated in 2008, made it to a couple state championship games. My daughter graduated in 2011. They both went on to play in college, which is awesome.”

Creighton said he isn’t burnt out from coaching, he just felt it was time to make a change of scenery. 

He and his wife, Rosalie, are moving more than 4,000 miles away to Portugal. 

“It’s kind of an adventure for us,” Creighton said. “Because if I was still living here, I would be coaching.”