Phoenix Aquatic Club Founder & Head Coach Don Wagner Retires

Don Wagner, the founder and head coach of Phoenix Aquatic Club in New York, has announced his retirement from coaching.

The decision marks the end of an illustrious career spanning almost five decades for Wagner, who has coached everyone from age group swimmers to Olympic gold medalists.

Phoenix Aquatic Club shared a post honoring Wagner’s legacy to the team’s Instagram.

Not long after graduating from the University of Nebraska in 1976, Wagner began his coaching career in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he became the head coach of Scottsdale Aquatic Club. He was eventually brought up to be the assistant coach at the University of Arizona under head coach Dick Jochums, remaining there for six years.

In 1989, Wagner took up a coaching position with Fullerton Aquatic Sports Team (FAST) in California and began working with one of the best swimmers in the world at the time.

Wagner started coaching Janet Evans, who had recently won three gold medals at the 1988 Olympic Games and was the world record holder in the 400 free, 800 free and 1500 free. In the summer of 1989, Wagner coached her to five National titles, including a national record in the 800 free relay.

Wagner was selected to coach for the U.S. at the 1989 Pan Pacific Championships in Tokyo, where four Americans broke world records: Tom Jager (50 free), Dave Wharton (200 IM), Mike Barrowman (200 breast) and Evans (800 free).

Shortly after, Wagner became the assistant coach at the University of Southern California, working under renowned head coach Mark Schubert.

In 1995, Wagner was hired as the head women’s coach at Texas A&M University, a position he held for four years. He went on to serve as the head coach for men and women at the University of Alabama from 1999-2003.

Aside from his many years coaching at the collegiate level, Wagner also held numerous national level coaching spots. He served as the U.S. Olympic coach for the Sydney Games in 2000, the head coach for the 1995 World University Games and the assistant coach for the 1991 Pan Pacific Games and the 1990 Goodwill Games.

Wagner was also a six-time U.S. National Team coach.

Wagner began coaching club again in 2003 and founded the Phoenix Aquatic Club in 2013, where he spent the rest of his coaching career running his own team in Palisades, New York.

Following Wagner’s retirement, the club has appointed his son Ryan Wagner as the new head coach of the team after he spent the past few years as the associate head coach/senior coach.