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USC’s Catherine Kase Moves to Boise, Will Focus on Open Water Through 2021

USC associate head coach Catherine Kase moved to Boise, Idaho amid the program’s coaching shuffle, she told SwimSwam Wednesday.

Her husband – former UCLA football player George Kase – and his company made the decision to move in late February to early March, and Kase told the team she was leaving in early April. The 2019-20 NCAA season was her 12th with the program and third as associate head coach.

“The timing of my announcement to the team (early April) was to NOT adversely impact our swimmers before Conference and NCAA meets,” Kase wrote in an email. “There was a lot of uncertainty for our athletes with Dave [Salo]’s departure, the abrupt ending of our season, and ultimately the postponement of the Games.”

Salo announced in January that he would step down from his position and focus on training Olympic hopefuls after the collegiate season.

Tuesday, USC announced the hiring of Northwestern head coach of two years Jeremy Kipp as the next head coach of the Trojans’ program. Kipp was an assistant at USC for eight years prior to his run as a head coach, leaving Kase – who many thought to be a strong candidate for Salo’s job in her own right – in an intriguing position should she not have already made the decision to move.

“The program at USC has a long and storied record,” Kase added. “I regret not being able to remain with the program, but know Coach Kipp and his staff will continue the traditions of excellence.

In November 2019, Kase was named head open water coach for the 2020 (now 2021) United States Olympic Team – her second time holding the position – and will see that role through, she said. Kase won’t pursue new college coaching positions in the meantime, and following the Tokyo Games, “will see what the universe holds” in regard to her plans, she said.

In addition to her 2016 and 2020 Olympic roles, Kase was Team USA’s open water head coach at the 2009, 2013, 2015 and 2019 FINA World Championships, 2014 and 2016 Pan Pacific Championships and 2007 Pan American Games.

Kase’s confirmed departure also raises questions regarding distance and open water rising star Erica Sullivan, a USC commit who graduated from high school in 2018 and deferred her college start to train for Tokyo. With the Games postponed, Sullivan told SwimSwam she would wait on the coaching hire to decide whether she will still attend this fall, and with Kipp’s hire, says she’ll take a week or so to mull her decision.

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George Kase
4 years ago

Thank you to everyone for the supportive comments for my wife, Catherine. It was a hard decision to move to Boise, but it is the best for my business and our family. It is a new experience for me to be the “significant other” :).

Catherine is focused on leading USA open water for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and beyond!!!

Brandi
4 years ago

Is Katherine coaching in Boise and did Haley Anderson follow her there?

afatdad
4 years ago

She will take Kipps old job at Boise St, from there she’ll go to Northwestern, then shell take head coach at USC. Ive seen the pattern before!

Corn Pop
4 years ago

Idaho predicted it would be the next victim of Caliexit . A few years ago i t was also rated top3 state to retire to .( all based on some very non California attributes) .

Reid
4 years ago

What does open water training/coaching entail? 5k repeats? Do they take the lane lines out during pool time and battle it out every lap? I’m genuinely curious.

Jim Henry
4 years ago

Great coach. Hope that someday she returns to college coaching.

Irish Ringer
4 years ago

Boise is an up and coming city and business friendly too. Good move from a business perspective.

Ol' Longhorn
Reply to  Irish Ringer
4 years ago

History what it is, not surprising that someone with “Irish” in their name would tout the city with the World’s Largest Potato.

Michael Phelps Cocoon
Reply to  Ol' Longhorn
4 years ago

Famine joke very funny

SwimCoachSean
Reply to  Michael Phelps Cocoon
4 years ago

Or maybe just a reference to Irish loving potatoes, and not a reference to famine, I mean if we don’t immediately go to the worst possible meaning and instead assume the most common.

NC Swim Fan
Reply to  Ol' Longhorn
4 years ago

@ol’longhorn I’m embarrassed that I laughed at your comment and will now work on becoming a better person.

Irish Ringer
Reply to  Ol' Longhorn
4 years ago

Hahaha, I’ll give it to OL’ Longhorn, that was actually funny. 🙂

Admin
Reply to  Irish Ringer
4 years ago

And they have the best street market in the United States.

I like Boise very much, and I don’t even ski.

Ol' Longhorn
Reply to  Braden Keith
4 years ago

We’re talking Boise. We’re not talking a real game.

Coach
4 years ago

I’m happy for Catherine, but I hate that our profession is potentially losing another great coach.

Best of luck in your next chapter, Catherine!

DLswim
Reply to  Coach
4 years ago

Agreed. Although the article is not 100% clear about this, it seems she left because of family/business reasons, not because she didn’t get the head coach position, but correct me if I’m wrong.

About Torrey Hart

Torrey Hart

Torrey is from Oakland, CA, and majored in media studies and American studies at Claremont McKenna College, where she swam distance freestyle for the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps team. Outside of SwimSwam, she has bylines at Sports Illustrated, Yahoo Sports, SB Nation, and The Student Life newspaper.

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