In late June, the American Swimming Coaches Association (ASCA) announced the 2018 ASCA Age Group Coach of the Year nominations.
The top 50 coaches were selected based on USA Swimming’s scoring of the national top 20 for the 10 & under, 11-12, and 13-14 age groups. The number of swimmers ranked #1 and number of swimmers ranked top 20 were also part of the selection criteria.
Based off the national age group points, Robert Norman of TAC Titans and Rod Hansen of Irvine Novaquatics are top contenders. Norman won this award in 2017 and currently has 9 of the top 20 athletes in the nation. Hansen has 7 of the top 20 athletes in the nation and 6 athletes ranked #1.
This marks the fifth year ASCA and Fitter and Faster have presented this award to a coach, but the first year with a new selection criteria. In years past, coaches were also nominated based on performance in Local Swim Committees (LSC) who were not part of the top 50 of USA Swimming’s Virtual Club Championship (VCC) team rankings. This was to give recognition to coaches who were part of smaller teams.
Voting for the 2018 recipient closes on July 31. The top 10 coaches will be invited to attend the ASCA World Clinic in Anaheim, CA on September 6. The finalist will be presented at the clinic.
Previous ASCA Age Group Coach of the Year Recipients
- 2017: Robert Norman, TAC Titans, Cary, North Carolina
- 2016: Sherwood Watts, Sarasota YMCA Sharks, Sarasota, Florida
- 2015: Tom Himes, NBAC, Baltimore, Maryland
- 2014: Beth Winkowski, Dynamo Swim Club, Atlanta, Georgia