Cal Alum Colleen Fotsch Takes Over As Women’s Strength & Conditioning Coach

Former Cal NCAA Champion Colleen Fotsch has taken over with the Cal women’s swimming program’s strength and conditioning coach, following the departure of the living legend Nick Folker.

Fotsch was a senior on Cal’s 2011 and 2012 NCAA Championship teams. In 2011, she was a part of the NCAA title winning 200 yard freestyle and medley relays, and individually placed 14th in the 100 fly and 15th in the 100 back. A year later, she was the third leg on Cal’s runner-up 200 free relay; and also swam the fly leg on their NCAA title and NCAA/U.S. Open Record breaking, 200 medley relay.

Fotsch transferred to Cal from Notre Dame, where she was a part of the school-record breaking 200 medley relay (swimming backstroke there).

She majored in American studies at Cal, and is a bay area native having swum for PASA. She also broke Central Coast Section Records in the 100 back and 100 fly to win titles in 2008, and was the 2008 NCSA Junior National Champion/record breaker in the 50 fly.

In May of 2013, Fotsch was added to the Cal State East Bay Pioneers’ Division II coaching staff. She now returns to Cal to work with the strength and conditioning programs. She will have a primary role for the women’s team, and head coach Teri McKeever says that she is “thrilled” to be working with Fotsch.

The men’s program, meanwhile, is now training on dryland under the watch of Joel Smith, whom has been transitioned into the role as Folker has transitioned out. Smith has a background as a track & field athlete, where he was a jumper and a javelin thrower. Men’s head coach Dave Durden says that Fotsch will serve as a backup to Smith with the men’s program (“keep eyes on the guys” when needed), but Smith is their primary strength & conditioning coach.