It was between games at Lejeune Hall on the grounds of the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, where the George Washington University men’s water polo team had just wrapped up a one-goal victory against Long Island University. The second game of the day against Iona was in just a few short hours.
That left little time for the coaches to dissect the opener while also having to game-plan for the nightcap.
It left even less time for some of them to put a dent in their stack of legal readings for the week.
And yet GW assistant coaches Vasilije Marinkovic and Cameron Reagan, both first-year students at GW Law, found enough of a window to seek out an empty classroom in the facility and cram in a few pages together in between games.
Their academic pursuits didn’t take away from the task immediately at hand, either, as the Revolutionaries defeated Iona 18-10 in game two later that afternoon.
This is the reality for the assistant coaching duo on a team on an upward trajectory after appearing in last season’s Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) championship match. They are taking on a rare double duty of being coaches at a Division I athletics program and tackling the rigors of law school.
For Marinkovic and Reagan, time is, well, at a premium this fall.
“It’s just like, ‘Hey, can we get in like 10 to 15 pages here between games?’” Reagan said. “We just try to chunk as much of it away from Friday to Monday morning as possible. Taking care of as much of it as possible during the weekends is probably the biggest strategy for us.”
Both GW assistant coaches (Marinkovic is a graduate assistant) enjoyed decorated playing careers in the water.
After playing two years at Mount St. Mary’s University, Marinkovic—who grew up in Montenegro—transferred to GW in 2025 and was the team’s primary goalkeeper last season, making 291 saves while earning MAWPC honorable mention after the regular season. He was key to GW's run to the title match in the conference tournament, making 46 saves across three games on his way to being named to the All-Tournament first team.
Reagan played for UCLA from 2019 to 2022, leading the Bruins to a national championship in 2020. As a defender/utility player, he scored 23 goals in 88 games played over his four years and was a staple of the Bruins’ defense. The Huntington Beach, Calif., native was also a two-time Pac-12 Fall All-Academic Team member.
They are used to, comfortable with and also very much miss the team aspect of working together with six other players in the water. But they are getting that fix as a duo, maximizing the most of their coaching and classroom experiences. They are in every course together and even take seats up front to ensure they are both actively listening and participating in a lecture, and they also hold each other accountable from a time management perspective.
“We’ve really approached it like we’re teammates in this experience,” Reagan said.
“It's a pretty great way to learn in general because I feel like, at least for me, the best way for me to learn is basically by explaining it to somebody, and that's what we are doing together,” Marinkovic added.
“I think it has worked well so far.”
The same can be said about GW’s water polo team, holding a winning record all season under veteran head coach Barry King. Despite a roster with just one senior on the squad, the Revolutionaries have held their own against top-tier competition while staying well above the .500 mark all season.
Marinkovic was teammates just last fall with many of the players he now coaches, and he is unsurprised that the experience gained by those last year is paying dividends this year, especially with championship season looming on the horizon.
“Those players that were freshmen the year before, now they are sophomores, and they still carry that momentum from last year,” said Marinkovic. “I feel like from last year, they were able to establish kind of the identity of the team, which I feel like is a big part of this program.”
While vastly different being on the pool deck instead of in the water during the actual competition, not always the easiest task for those just transitioning out of their playing careers, Marinkovic and Reagan have enjoyed the challenge of coaching.
But that feel for the game developed over years of playing has been helpful to both as they have turned their swimwear and protection caps in for whistles. And it has helped the operation for the Revolutionaries, as practices can be broken down by specific groups, especially as Marinkovic and Reagan often get in the water with the athletes to be able to both show and tell the tactics they are communicating.
“I think that in terms of the value that's added, it really kind of creates a more game-type situation,” Reagan said.
Reagan works mostly with the centers and defenders—two positions he played at UCLA—on the Revolutionaries, while Marinkovic naturally works with the keepers. This also allows for King to be able to step back and take in the entirety of his team.
“I feel like having different perspectives and being able to discuss from each of those perspectives just brings the best out of the team in general,” Marinkovic added.
That mentality—finding and understanding different perspectives to focus on the best outcome—will be how they both approach their future careers in law.
They are building those skills at GW and have been appreciative of the support they’ve received so far from all involved, from Athletics to GW Law to peers to the university as a whole, as they undertake this massive dual assignment of advanced degree study and coaching.
And rest assured, they probably rest well when time allows for it.
