The Dayton Raiders have removed the interim title from Andrew Kramer and named him the program’s full-time head coach after replacing veteran Paul Murphy earlier this year. Murphy was in charge of the program for less than 7 months.
As was outlined when Kramer was elevated to the interim position, he is far-less experienced than Murphy.
Murphy, an ASCA Level 5 coach, has coached 70+ Olympic Trials qualifiers, 5 Olympians, more than 40 High School All-Americans, several state champions, and swimmers who went on to achieve 35 CSCAA All-America awards.
Kramer, meanwhile, is a level 1 ASCA and is a teacher at nearby Alter High School. His previous coaching stops included as an assistant coach at the Columbus School for Girls, a volunteer assistant for Versailles High School, and as the head coach at the Miami Valley School in Dayton. He also participated in an internship with Ritter Sports Performance.
But Kramer does have the support of a very experienced coaching staff, including Kevin Weldon, who was the head coach of the Dayton Raiders for 30 years before stepping back into an assistant job at the end of the 2021-2022 season. Weldon, who carries considerable influence with the club, gave Kramer a glowing review on Facebook after Kramer was given the position on a full-time basis.
“My good friend and lead assistant for the past 3-4 years, Andrew Kramer was just named Head Coach for the Dayton Raiders,” Weldon said in a Facebook post. “I am so happy and proud of Andrew and he has proven many times that he is ready to take the lead. I don’t see a lot of young coaches who ‘really gets it.’ Andrew has all the tools to make his mark on the swimming community locally and nationally. I look forward to watch it develop. Way to go Buddy!”
The Raiders are currently a Bronze Medal Club in the USA Swimming Club Excellence program, which makes them among the top 200 clubs in the country. They were named a Gold Medal Club (top 20) several times during Weldon’s tenure leading the program, including most recently in 2019.
Among the club’s top active swimmers is Luke Sullivan, who was 5th in the 100 free at the Ohio High School State Championships in February; Tristan Prizler, who was 3rd in the 500 free and 4th in the 200 IM at the D2 meet, and Caleb Manning, who was 4th in the 500 free at the D1 meet.
They haven’t been the same since then assistant Megan Olsen moved out of state. As little as 5 years ago, they were a club powerhouse when they had Cope, Bybee & Knowles at the same time.
Yeah, Megan was a big loss, but they’ve had more than ample time to adjust to this. I realize the Raiders don’t have a lot of experience hiring a Head Coach because Kevin was there for 30+ years, but the Paul Murphy hire was puzzling to say the least. Murphy has no ties to the area (that I’m aware of) and has zero history of staying in his numerous positions for more than a year or two. Was the Raiders hiring committee deceived by the ASCA level resume padding or was this a diversity hire where they just didn’t hire the best candidate? I heard the hiring committee disregarded the recommendations of the coaching staff and went against their wishes.… Read more »
Why was Murphy let go? And if he was only there for seven months, why was he hired in the first place?
The board did not do the background work on Murphy. Big mess that could have been avoided. One wonders how this still happens with how easily accessible information is these days. Yeah, you’d think they would consult current coaches to ensure a good fit into the culture. Saw team at meet this weekend and kids looked happy.
Hiring Paul Murphy was a terrible decision by the Dayton Raiders. Was Murphy’s employment history and accuracy of his resume even vetted? I sincerely hope the Raiders process in this important hire is examined and that the individuals that made this unfortunate and irresponsible choice are not involved in future important decisions within the club. Board members need to understand that when they are put in a leadership role of a club like the Dayton Raiders, they’re not only representing the interests of the current members, but the swimmers, parents, coaches and volunteers from the past that tirelessly worked to build the club into a great program they inherited.
Nah. Not important. Heard he was falling asleep at practice.