Call it a trade. The Toledo Rockets, after their head coach Liz Hinkelman left to become the new assistant of the Ohio State women’s program, have hired Chris Peters as their new head coach. Peters was in charge of the recruiting program for the Buckeyes’ men’s program.
When Hinkelman left the program, after winning two MAC Championships in the last three years and coaching Laura Lindsay to a B-Final win at NCAA’s last season, it was hard to imagine a better fit for this program. Based on his credentials, Peters could be an even better fit.
Peters has vast college coaching experience, with 6 years as an assistant at his alma mater Missouri, plus four months as the interim head coach. In 2010, he headed to Ohio State, where he worked with National Team swimmers like Tim Phillips and Elliot Keefer, and had his last recruiting class in Columbus ranked no. 5 in the nation by collegeswimming.com.
This is a coach who brings more than just his collegiate experience and Midwestern roots to the table. He spent three years coaching national level swimmers with the Arizona Marlins in Phoenix (Including Alex Righi), so he has connections on the west coast recruiting hotbed. Perhaps, though, the most unique experience he has is time spent as an Associate Producer with ESPN in 2002. A media-savvy coach can be a huge asset in a non-revenue sport where even small efforts can result in huge results.