The North Baltimore Aquatic Club has announced that Erik Posegay will become the team’s new head coach, effective August 1, 2015. He will replace the outgoing Bob Bowman, who will leave the program after this summer’s World Championships to take over as the new head coach of Arizona State University.
Posegay has been on the NBAC staff since 2011 after first making his mark with the Parkland Aquatic Club, where he built a small program into the top-ranked USA Swimming club in Pennsylvania, via the Club Excellence Program, for five straight seasons. That includes training Gillian Ryan to the 2011 USA Swimming National Championship in the women’s 800 free.
“Over the past 4 years I have watched Erik Posegay grow as a coach in every aspect,” Bowman said of his successor. “He is truly one of the best coaches in this country and I am certain that he will lead NBAC to success at all levels its next era. Erik is a tireless worker, a detailed planner and a thoughtful leader. He embodies our ideal of the disciplined pursuit of excellence.”
As to his new position, Posegay said that “I want to thank Bob for everything he has taught me the past 4 years. It has been an invaluable learning experience that I will carry with me the rest of my career. I’m excited for the opportunity Bob has in front of him at Arizona State and I know he will quickly turn them into a powerhouse. I’m excited for the opportunity in front of us here and look forward to continuing to add onto the storied history of NBAC.”
Much of Bowman’s elite professional training group have committed to follow him to Tempe, Arizona, including Michael Phelps and Allison Schmitt.
Press Release from North Baltimore Aquatic Club Follows:
The North Baltimore Aquatic Club board of directors is pleased to announce that Erik Posegay will become the team’s new Head Coach as of August 1, 2015.
Coach Posegay follows Bob Bowman, who has been Head Coach since October of 2008 and will be moving to Arizona State University in August. Posegay has served as a High Performance and Challenge level coach since coming to NBAC in August of 2011.
Prior to his time at NBAC, he was the Head Coach at Parkland Aquatic Club from 2005 until 2011. Additionally, Coach Posegay has served as a coach of the National Junior Team, the USA Swimming Duel in the Pool team and will coach the USA Work Championship Open Water team this summer.
“Over the past 4 years I have watched Erik Posegay grow as a coach in every aspect,” remarked Coach Bowman. “He is truly one of the best coaches in this country and I am certain that he will lead NBAC to success at all levels its next era. Erik is a tireless worker, a detailed planner and a thoughtful leader. He embodies our ideal of the disciplined pursuit of excellence.”
Coach Posegay stated, “I want to thank Bob for everything he has taught me the past 4 years. It has been an invaluable learning experience that I will carry with me the rest of my career. I’m excited for the opportunity Bob has in front of him at Arizona State and I know he will quickly turn them into a powerhouse. I’m excited for the opportunity in front of us here and look forward to continuing to add onto the storied history of NBAC.”
Congratulations Erik! I am sure you will be very dedicated.
CONGRATS Erik!!!
He is an amazing coach and even a better person. very passionate about swimming and the swimmers he coaches.
He will do very well (as he has done all these past years) as the Head Coach of NBAC.
Congrats my friend!
I’m so happy for Erik!! He coached me (as an assistant) at Emmaus High School 2002-2004. He’s one of the few coaches I’ve had that got my breast to a point that my IM was competitive on a state level. This was when EHS was one of the best high school teams in the state.
Obviously it’s been a while, but he was excellent in all the strokes / a total coach when I knew him a decade ago.
Holy crap…we swam together at EMAC back in the day under Tim and Erik!
Erik had success with George Rae-Grant in breaststroke in high school. From what I could tell, once he took over at PAAC and had Gillian Ryan, all of a sudden he became a D coach. Since his departure, PAAC has done well in the D FR events.
Congratulations to Erik, from having him as a coach and as a manager when I was a lifeguard in HS, he surely has a passion for the sport and I wish him nothing but the best!
Jeez guys, give the man a chance. And for all the comments about him being only a distance coach, well I don’t know about that. BUT, it’s not like bowman was the best sprint coach there is neither. And I don’t think that he had an enormuous focus on sprint freestyle in his training approach. Not that I would know anything about it anyway… Just give the man a chance for god’s sake!
MAN. Even if all Eric ever did was get Gillian Ryan to win the 2011 Summer NATS (or was it 2010 I forget), he has reached a level of “his athlete’s performance” that 99% of coaches don’t reach. And he has done much more than that as a coach. I’m not going list the guy’s accomplishments here, in part because I don’t want to leave anything out.
One performance I do remember is E. Lee going 2:12 last summer. Not bad for a 15 year old girl. Or was she 14? Doesn’t matter right? Again, another top level performance many coaches work decades to get.
Posegay did not move to NBAC until August of 2011, less than a year beiges the trials. So the successes 200IM, 400IM, and 200Br in 2008 and 2012 trials you are referring to are credited to the coaches that were there during those times. Not a coach that moved there less than a year out from 2012 trials.
No they are not. They are from his swimmers in PA that got those times from his training for several years. I don’t really know who to “credit” him for in MD since I only knew of his swimmers in PA.
You can add Fry (14) to that list of 200 IM times-she went 2:06.xx in the 14 & under MD State Champ meet-the times listed are for the Open group for the MD State meet. That’s a pretty good list of young talent for NBAC.
Maryland Championships Girl’s 200 IM:
Lee (14) 1:58.75
Pelton (17) 1:58.87
Tan (14) 2:03.98
Poole (14) 2:05.35
Kalisz (15) 2:07.28
Peacock (16) 2:07.50
Bate (14) 2:08.16
He only knows distance free
He pigeon holes kids due to his inability to coach any other stroke
Actually very sad
Should rename the club to match
NBAC=
No bother advancing capabilities
Absolutely not true Swimsweep. IM work is very, very strong.
Not true, Erik has proven himself capable of training even distance kids in success within different events, including the individual medley.
Where I agree that his more successful swimmers have been distance free, he’s also had great success all around. For 2008 and 2012 Trials I believe he had more swimmers qualify in 200 IM, 400 IM and 200 Br under his coaching than any other events.
Posegay did not move to NBAC until august of 2011, which was less than a year before the 2012 trials, and way after the 2008 trials. So the successes in the 200IM, 400IM, and 200Br that you are referring to are credited to the coaches that were at NBAC during those times, not someone who came there less than a year before the 2012 trials.
No they are not. They are from his swimmers in PA that got those times from his training for several years. I don’t really know who to “credit” him for in MD since I only knew of his swimmers in PA. Oh and none of those of swimmers who achieved those times after he left PA.
Either way, I watched him turn a small “high school feeder” program into a top notch team. He’s had some major success in Baltimore and think it will continue with him at the helm.
Someone’s got an axe to grind
Someone seems salty
I love how being labelled a “distance coach” is viewed as some sort of insult, like any joker off the street could do this since distance swimmers are a talentless lot… Wanna throw Bruce Gemmell in the same category? I think not…