Steve Hanson enters his third season as the head coach for the Santa Clara Broncos men and women's water polo teams. Hanson holds many aspirations for the seasons to come, hoping to lead the Broncos to a division championship and eventually an NCAA title. He has been on staff at Santa Clara for seven years, and has brought experience, knowledge, and dedication to the water polo program.

In 1994, Hanson joined Santa Clara as the assistant coach for the men's water polo team, continuing for the '95 and '96 seasons. In spring of 1997, Hanson assisted his brother Marc Hanson (class of '98) with the Santa Clara women's club team. He briefly left the Bronco coaching staff in the fall of 1997, to pursue a head coaching opportunity for the men and women's water polo teams at UC Santa Barbara. The following year he led the UCSB women's water polo team to a second-place finish in the Division III National Championship, garnering the Division III Coach of the Year award. Hanson returned to Santa Clara as the head coach of the men and women's water polo programs in 1998.

Hanson has devoted much of his time to the Santa Clara water polo program, coaching many talented players, including All-American recipient Kim Yost in 2000. He's also coached 18 athletes to 27 Academic All-American honors, including two-time recipients Matthew Petrich (1999-00), Jay Moorhead (1999-00), Kristy Kunisaki (1999-00), and Shannon Von Lehr (1999-00).

Hanson began his collegiate career at College of the Sequoias (Visalia, Calif.) in 1990, where he was a competitor for two years. At COS, he was the team's leading scorer and named first team All-American two straight years, including the Regional Player of the Year award his freshman season. Not only was Hanson a gifted water polo player, but he was also a talented swimmer, ranking fourth in the state in the 50-yard freestyle competition in 1991. Hanson continued his water polo pursuit at UCSB, when he transferred in 1992. He was a starter for both seasons he competed, ranking third in scoring in 1992 and second in '93. In spring of1994, Hanson transferred to Santa Clara University to complete his bachelor's degree in History, which he did in '96.

The 28-year-old currently resides in Campbell.