Paul Mazzarelle brings more than 30 years of competitive aquatics coaching and playing experience to San Diego Miramar College. Paul grew up in San Diego and played water polo and swam through high school—earning water polo Most Valuable Player during his senior year—and continued competing in intermural/club water polo and swim while earning a B.S. in Biology at Humboldt State University. After graduation, Paul returned to San Diego and coached both club swim and high school water polo/swim at Patrick Henry High School.  

In the late 1990s, Paul returned to NorCal as the head coach of Humboldt Swim Club. Paul produced three young Junior National qualifiers in just two years (swimmers aged 14, 15, and 16) gaining team recognition in the area and transferring the local swimmers to collegiate teams. Paul was selected by USA Swimming to attend the National Age Group Coaches Conference at the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, NY—moderated by USA Swimming’s Bill Boomer who revolutionized training philosophies, gamesmanship, and stroke technique with a scientific whole-body approach to teaching and training competitive athletes. Paul continues to carry these concepts with him to his daily practices.  

Always seeking coach education and mentorship, Paul spent summers as a coach at Stanford University, which reinforced the swimming stroke technique and training philosophies of Olympic Coaches Richard Quick and Skip Kenney, 6- and 3-time Olympic Coaches respectively. 

From 2000–2005, Paul joined the coaching staff at the world-renowned Mission Viejo Nadadores swim club. In addition to his full-time coaching responsibilities, Paul assisted daily with the National Team practices under the tutelage of Hall of Fame inductee Coach Bill Rose. Paul was fortunate enough to be a member of the Nadadores staff during two Olympic cycles: Chad Carvin (200 freestyle; 2000 Olympic Team), Larsen Jensen (silver medalist and American Record holder in the 1500 freestyle, 2004 Olympic Team), and numerous international Olympians.  

In 2005, Paul was hired as Aquatics Program/Team Manager at the Boys & Girls Clubs in Solana Beach. Paul managed club growth and helped create a progressive program from novice to elite athletes. Five years later Paul’s wife was relocated to the Bay Area for work. In the Bay Area, Paul secured a Head Coach position for a local club swim team, and as an Adjunct Professor and Assistant Swim Coach at Solano Community College, while also volunteering as a Swim Assistant at Mills College. He also became involved in the local board and committees, and was selected to coach the Sierra Nevada all-star training group at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CA. 

In 2012, Paul was awarded a Masters of Sports Science from the United States Sports Academy and achieved ASCA (American Swim Coaches Association) Level 4, meeting specific education and performance requirements. Paul and Shannon welcomed their son Rocco in August 2014 and in December 2015 returned to San Diego to be closer to family, where they now live a few houses away from Paul’s childhood home. From 2016-2024, Paul was employed at San Diego Mesa College as an Exercise Science Instructor and a coaching mix of Assistant Water Polo, and Assistant and Head Coach for Swim/Dive. In 2022, Paul was awarded PCAC Women’s Swim Coach of the Year.