Coaches
Layla Behzadian has been instrumental at nearly every level in the development and growth of water polo during her 20+ years of involvement in the community. In the past 4 years, Layla has been a coach and admin for the Brooklyn Hustle Water Polo Club, where she tripled club membership and started their first 12U all girls team. She was also the assistant coach for the LIU D1 Women’s Water Polo team from the program’s inception in 2019 to their league championship in 2023.
Prior to that, Layla was a coach and high-level referee in Portland, OR, while also serving on the board for the USAWP sports growth committee for the PNW and the Oregon Water Polo Officials Association. From 2012 to 2015, Layla was the National Events and Membership Manager at USAWP in Huntington Beach, which included leading and organizing all national membership events, including Junior Olympics. While working at USAWP, she was an age group coach and masters athlete for OC Riptide. Layla grew up in Riverside, CA where she played water polo for Riverside Water Polo, RCC & California Baptist University. She now lives in Brooklyn, NY with her husband, Mike Byrd, and their two children Emmett (3) & Mila (2).
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Mike Byrd has been with Brooklyn Hustle since 2021, as a coach for the boys, girls, and beginner groups. He was also the assistant coach for the Long Island University women’s water polo program from 2019 to 2023. Prior to moving to New York City, he was a successful coach at various levels and earned numerous coaching honors, including at the Wellesley College women’s collegiate club team, the Lincoln High (Ore.) women’s water polo team, and the Lake Oswego and Tualatin Hills water polo clubs. Byrd also served three years as head coach for the Pacific Northwest Boys Cadet team, part of USAWP’s Olympic Development Program (ODP).
Originally from Modesto, California, Byrd was a first-team All-District and two-year captain and MVP for Modesto High, where he also was captain of the basketball team. He attended Harvard University (2004-2008) and captained the men’s water polo team.
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Irakli Sanadze began playing water polo as a three-year-old in Tbilisi, Georgia, following in the footsteps of his father who also played water polo in Georgia. For seven seasons he played professionally with the Dynamo Tbilisi club, winning multiple Georgian championships. As a member of the Georgian national team Sanadze regularly competed for the USSR Championship.
After emigrating to America, he coached eight years at Brooklyn’s Y Pro Water Polo Club, where his teams enjoyed success in regional tournaments, including the Tri-State Championships in Greenwich, CT. Sanadze has coached multiple athletes who went on to play college water polo on scholarship.
Sanadze is certified by FINA as an international water polo referee. He has refereed all over the world, including LEN professional matches in Europe as well as NCAA, CWPA and USA Water Polo competition. From 2015-2021 he was a member of USAWP’s Northeast Zone Board.
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Jonathan Koganov grew up playing water polo in Brooklyn and continues to give back to the water polo community here. The son of emigrants from Azerbaijan and great water polo repute, Jonathan has an innate feel for the game that he is glad to pass on to the next generation. He juggles coaching the older boys (as well as the girls and beginner groups) with his full-time job and living in Manhattan.
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Charlie Downey is a business major at LIU who hails from Sherman Oaks. He graduated from Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, Ca as a four year scholar athlete. Charlie competed as a varsity water polo player and captained the team as a senior. He earned the coaches’ award as well as MVP his senior year. In addition to playing varsity volleyball and serving as secretary of the surf club, Charlie competed with the LA Water Polo Club in Thousand Oaks. He has also coached for LAWPC.