Mandy Simon, who was named head coach of the Comets prior to the 2018 season, was a vital player as a goalie for Palomar’s 2004 team, which finished first in its conference. After a knee injury and a season off, she returned to the water as a 2M defender. She later transferred and completed her final two seasons as a Division II utility player at Cal State Monterey Bay under former Olympian Gary Figueroa.

 

Simon’s coaching career began in 2005. She spent three seasons at Vista High School and two seasons at La Costa Canyon High School. She also has experience coaching at the Boys and Girls Club and with the North San Diego STARS club team. Simon coached the girls' water polo team at Oceanside High School for three seasons before stepping away when she had her son in 2022. She returned to high school coaching for the 2024–25 season at Classical Academy, assisting one of her former Palomar athletes who had become the head coach.

 

As a Palomar assistant coach in 2010 and 2011, Simon took a break before returning in 2017. She was promoted from assistant coach to head coach in 2018. Her head coaching career began with leading the Comets to second place in the conference in her first year. In 2019, she guided the team to a first-place finish, earning the title of conference champions. She was also named Coach of the Year by the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference. After the 2020 season was canceled due to COVID, Mandy led the Comets to another conference title in 2021 and received the Coach of the Year award for the second consecutive season. She led the team to a third first-place finish in 2022. With six competitive seasons under her belt, she is eager to continue growing the program and leading the team to the state level.

 

Simon’s goal is to develop athletes who succeed as scholarship players at four-year colleges. She uses water polo as a platform to help her student-athletes acquire the skills they need to succeed both in the classroom and in life. She is passionate about gender equity and strives to instill confidence in her athletes as women, empowering them to fight against injustices in sports.

 

Mandy Simon received her bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from Cal State Monterey Bay and her master’s in physical education from Azusa Pacific University. She earned her doctorate in organizational leadership with an emphasis in higher education from Grand Canyon University. She and her son, Cairo, live in Oceanside.