Courtesy: Army Athletics
WEST POINT, N.Y. — Army West Point swimming and diving Head Coach Brandt Nigro has announced the addition of Connor Dorff to the coaching staff as Head Diving Coach.
“I’m incredibly excited to be joining the Army swim and dive staff,” Dorff said. “The competitiveness, camaraderie, and humility amongst the athletes and the coaches is truly inspiring and everything I’ve wanted in a team. It’s an honor to be coaching at West Point, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for us.”
Dorff comes to the banks of the Hudson after a one-year run as a Volunteer Assistant Coach at Duke University. During the 2022-23 season, where five Blue Devils improved their scores. While at Durham, he also guided three student-athletes to the ACC Platform Finals and the NCAA Championship.
While at Durham, he was also the Age Group Elite diving coach at the Duke Diving Club. Dorff led 20 athlete elite diving program, where nine out of 11 athletes qualified for the Summer 2023 USA Diving Zones. He also had seven athletes participate in the USA Diving National Championships.
“I am excited to have Connor join our staff! He’s got great experience at every level – both college and club! He’s worked on the developmental side of the sport while also coaching some of the top divers in the NCAA! Everyone I spoke to about Connor spoke highly of his coaching skill set, but more importantly, his ability to connect with, educate, and inspire his athletes toward their potential. He’ll fit in nicely with our staff and continue to build our Diving program into one of the best in the NCAA! Go Army!!” – Head Coach Brandt Nigro
Prior to his time at Duke, Dorff spent a season as Head Diving Coach at St. Bonaventure University. The Bonnies saw the men’s diving program set new diving records at the 1M and Platform events. In 2022, Dorff was named the Atlantic Ten Diving Coach of the Year. While at St. Bonaventure, he had two student-athletes named Atlantic 10 Conference Champions. They also had two Student-Athletes qualify for the NCAA Zones and had one athlete reach the finals.
From 2017-2021, Dorff was the Head Diving Coach at Northern Michigan University. At Northern Michigan, he recruited and built six Zone and NCAA qualifiers.
Also at Northern Michigan, he increased divers’ average degree of difficulty level by 2.0 points.
Dorff also made a stop at St. Lawrence University from 2015-17 as Graduate Assistant Diving Coach and Coordinator. At St. Lawrence University, he coached their first diver to compete at the NCAA finals since 1989.
In his eight years of coaching, Dorff had 29 athletes appear in the NCAA Zones and NCAA Championships at the Division I-III levels. He also had one athlete compete in the 2021 Junior World Championships.
Dorff dove collegiately at Dennison University in Granville, Ohio, where he was on the 2011 and 2012 NCAA Division III National Championship teams. He was also named Academic All-American and was the team captain in 2015.
Dorff graduated with a BA from Denison University in 2015 and earned his Master of Education from St. Lawrence University in 2017.
He is USA Diving certified coach and has certification in NCAA Recruiting. He is also certified in USLA Open Water Rescue.
Let’s see how long that lasts.
Let’s go Connor!!!! West Point got a good one!