Kyle Kim-E

Head Coach, Boys and Girls Water Polo

2015 – “I feel both honored and thrilled to be back at Northwood,” Kim-E said in a statement. “I love Northwood, this community, and these kids. I’m looking forward to the challenges ahead and hope to bring stability to our program.” [Read OCVarsity Article]

Kyle attended Northwood High School from 2006 – 2010, where he was a four year Varsity water polo player and swimmer. While playing at Northwood HS, Kyle played in two back to back D1 CIFSS Finals and was a CIFSS Masters State Champion. Additionally, Northwood won two Sea View League Championships and finished #10 overall his Senior year. Kyle graduated Northwood in 2010 as a 2x All-American, 2x First Team All Sea View League Player, 2x Irvine All-City Player, and Third Team All-CIFSS. He was also named to the South Orange County All-Star Team.

Kyle then signed to Vanguard University, where he played for his high school coach, Ed Carrera. After two successful seasons, including a 2nd place finish at the NAIA Championships, he transferred to Chapman University. While at Chapman, Kyle was a 2x Academic All-SCIAC athlete with Superior Honors (3.7+ GPA). Kyle completed his collegiate career as a four year starter.

Kyle earned his Bachelors degree in Strategic and Corporate Communication from Chapman University in 2014 and then completed his Masters in Teaching from Chapman University in 2019. Kyle began his teaching career at Northwood High School in 2019. In addition to coaching and teaching, he is the Founder & CEO of a non-profit company. His 501(c)3 non-profit, Wells for Wellbeing, builds water wells and distributes water filters in Cambodia.

Since 2015, Kyle has led the boys program to a number of strong CIFSS finishes, including Semifinal finishes in Division 4 (2016) and Division 3 (2019).

In 2019, the girls program made CIFSS for the first time in seven years. And in 2020, the girls made history again by winning a league championship for the first time in Northwood’s history. This was also Kyle’s first league championship as a coach. [Read OC Register Article] or [Read OC Sports Zone Article]

In the 2023-24 season, after upsetting the #1 ranked team, the girls program made history yet again with their first CIFSS Finals appearance [Read OC Sports Zone Article]. Unfortunately, the girls came up short with a 6-8 loss against private school Rosary [Read OC Register Article]. It was Kyle’s first CIFSS Finals appearance as a coach.

In the off-season, Kyle serves as North Irvine Water Polo Club’s Assistant HS Director and as a coach. He has served as the Head Coach for the 16u Boys (2021), 18u Girls (2022), 18u Boys (2023), HS Boys (2024), and 18u North Irvine/Vegas (2025) programs. His 18u Girls team in 2022 won a bronze medal in the Classic Division of the USA Water Polo Junior Olympics. And his 18u North Irvine/Vegas team in 2025 won a bronze medal in both Division 2 Futures and the Gold Division of the USA Water Polo Junior Olympics.

Irvine Swim League 2014 Todd K. Larsen Coach of the Year
Former Northwood Player Describes His Approach to Coaching (Irvine Standard)

Boys League Championships:
Girls League Championships: 2020

Boys CIFSS: 2016 (D4 Semifinalist), 2017, 2018 (D3 Quarterfinalist), 2019 (D3 Semifinalist & State Regional Qualifier), 2021, 2022 (D3 Quarterfinalist), 2023

Girls CIFSS: 2019, 2020, 2022, 2024 (D4 Finalist), 2026 (D3 Semifinalist)

Steve Sellwood

Assistant Coach, Boys and Girls Water Polo

Steve attended Mater Dei High School and continued his education at California State University, Fullerton where he earned his communications degree and teaching credential. Shortly after that, he began his coaching career in 1987 at Santa Margarita High School, where he also became a teacher in 1990. He brings a vast amount of coaching experience from working with student-athletes in football, basketball, baseball, hockey, and waterpolo.

His sons, Spencer and Josh, were active club athletes ever since they were young and have competed with the Northwood HS water polo program. Steve started to compete on the North Irvine Club Masters team and eventually became a Northwood HS water polo assistant coach, shortly after he became Northwood’s Video Production teacher. For the 2019-20 school year, Steve was named the FilmEd Mentor of the Year. [Watch Video]

Audrey Light

Assistant Coach, Boys and Girls Water Polo

Audrey is excited to be a part of the Northwood High School water polo program. She developed her love for the water through the Irvine Swim League (ISL) with the Northpark Riptide, year-round swimming with Irvine Novaquatics, and playing water polo with SOCAL. She later focused exclusively on water polo at Mater Dei High School (Class of 2014) under Coach Chris Segesman. During her four years on varsity, Audrey was a two-time Trinity League Champion, three-time All-League selection, and three-time CIF-SS Division II finalist. She also competed for Regency Club Water Polo during the high school offseason.

Audrey continued her athletic career at the University of California, Berkeley (Class of 2018), where she competed with Cal’s Club Water Polo team. After graduation, she discovered a passion for open-water swimming while living in San Francisco, regularly swimming in the Bay and even completing the iconic Alcatraz swim. She later earned her Master’s in Teaching and teaching credentials in Social Science and English from UC Irvine and is excited to be back in her hometown, pursuing a career centered around education and mentoring young people.

Coaching has always been an important part of Audrey’s journey. In high school, she served as an assistant coach for the 12–14 pre-senior swim group at SOCAL Aquatics. While attending UC Berkeley, she coached and taught swim lessons at the Downtown Berkeley YMCA. More recently, she returned to the Irvine Swim League as an assistant coach for the Turtle Rock Broadmoor Sharks. Audrey is thrilled to be back on the pool deck, helping student-athletes grow both in and out of the water while sharing her passion for the sport she loves.