His dad, Garth, was a former standout at CdM, who went on to help UCLA win a pair of national championships in the early 1970s. Max’s uncle, James, starred at Newport Harbor before becoming a four-time All-American at Stanford and helping the United States win a silver medal in the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, Korea.
Further, the aquatics facility at CdM High is named after his grandmother, Marian Bergeson, a former California state senator and state assemblywoman who also served on the Orange County Board of Supervisors and was the state’s Secretary of Education.
But when it came to making a name for himself in athletics, the water polo ball was not Max’s first choice.
“I played everything but water polo,” he said. “I played basketball, soccer, football, lacrosse, golf, and some other stuff.”
But when the family moved from Oregon to Carlsbad, it wasn’t long before Bergeson was slipping into a Speedo.
“It’s the family sport,” he said. “Once I started playing, it didn’t take me too long to get attached to the game. Then, I stopped playing everything else.”
He also started learning subtleties of the game from his dad and his uncle. This knowledge, combined with natural talent that included a powerful left-handed shot, helped Bergeson contribute to Carlsbad High’s San Diego Section Division I title as a freshman.
The family then moved to Orange County, where the chance to develop his water polo skills against better competition was a challenge Max was eager to embrace.
