Coach Brian Waterbury

• Article & Obituary
• Career Racing Statistics
• Memorial Run
• Memorial Scholarship
• Photos
• SLOHS Athletics Hall of Fame

Excerpt from Obituary

Brian was born Aug. 8, 1948, in Los Angeles. One of his childhood milestones was being awarded the rank of Eagle Scout in 1964. He moved to San Luis Obispo in 1966 to attend Cal Poly. Following his graduation, he earned his teaching credential in 1973, and a master’s degree in computer science and education from Oregon State University in 1984.

Brian’s dedication to students began in 1973, at San Luis Obispo High School, where he was a teacher, coach, California Teacher’s Association representative and a member of the SLCTA negotiation team. Over his 30-year career as a mathematics and computer science teacher, he would earn respect by his professionalism, integrity and by always keeping the student’s best interest as his top priority. He taught every level of class from remedial to honors. He developed a district-wide five-year plan to integrate computers and computer-assisted education into the K-12 curriculum.

Brian had a lengthy career as a distance runner and coach. He began coaching while he was a student teacher at Laguna Junior High School and continued as a cross country and track coach at San Luis Obispo High School. He was the coach of the first girls cross country team at the high school and took his team to their first CIF finals. He continued to help with the team even after stepping down as the official coach, and was the head timer at home track meets through the spring of 2002.

Brian organized the first distance races on the Central Coast in 1970 and was one of the founders of the San Luis Distance club in 1974. His personal 40-year competitive running career began at Mira Costa High School and Cal Poly. He ran in more than 500 races following graduation, highlighted by a top ten finish in his age division at the Boston Marathon in 2001.