The American Swimming Coaches Association (ASCA) announced Anthony Nesty as the 2022 George Haines Coach of the Year and MC Banks as the 2022 Fitter and Faster Top Age Group Coach of the Year. Nesty is the head coach at the University of Florida, while Banks coaches at Nova of Virginia.
The George Haines Coach of the Year award is given annually to the coach “whose effectiveness has contributed the most towards American swimming excellence at the world level”. Nesty was one of six finalists for this year’s award, with the other finalists being Todd DeSorbo, Dave Durden, Ray Looze, Greg Meehan, and Michael Norment. All finalists coached athletes who won gold medals at the recent World Championships in Budapest.
Nesty was named the head coach of the men’s side of Team USA at World Champs. Nesty coached multiple gold medalists at World’s, including Katie Ledecky, Bobby Finke, Caeleb Dressel, and Kieran Smith. His athletes accounted for a combined total of 8 gold medals individually.
The Fitter and Faster Top Age Group Coach of the Year award is given annually to one of the Top 10 Age Group Coaches of the Year. The Top 10 coaches are determined based on USA Swimming’s National Rankings data for 12 and under swimmers. Coaches receive bonus points for #1 rankings, how many different swimmers are ranked, and the number of total rankings. The coaches honored alongside Banks include: Allison Brol (Nitro), Andrew Marsh (Lakeside Aquatic Club), Brian Pajer (Aquazot), Bruce Brockschmidt (Jersey Wahoos), David Tambuwun (Pleasanton Seahawks), Gabriela Sofia (Long Island Aquatic Club), Joe Finke (St. Petersburg Aquatics), Rod Hansen (Irvine Novaquatics), and Tim Himes (North Baltimore).
Banks coaches at Nova of Virginia, out of Richmond. She is the lead coach of Nova’s “Age Group Gold” group (11-12 yr. olds), and assists with their “Age Group Development Gold” group (8-10 yr. olds). This summer, the team’s 11-12s put up 11 Top 16 swims, with their highest rank being the 2nd place boys 400 medley relay.
Lindsay Grogan was also honored at the ASCA World Clinic as the 2022 ASCA Impact Coach of the Year. The award was created to recognize coaches who have had an impact on “athletes’ lives and on the sport of swimming.” Grogan coaches at Nitro Swimming out of Austin, Texas. She is a 2016 Paralympian, 2015 Para World Championships team member, and 2014 Para Pan-Pacific Championship team member.
Congratulations to Coach Nesty – Always a gentleman, great competitor and ambassador for our sport.
Congrats MC!!
A pretty incredible group of coaches who at some point were connected to Shenandoah Marlins Aquatics Club in Waynesboro, VA.
MC Banks – NOVA
Norm Wright – NOVA
Scott Thacker – VMI
Doug Wharam – Nashville
Alex Rayle – Carmel
Ryan Sprang – GPAC
Scott Griffith – Glacier
I don’t know the criteria to evaluate the quality of coach job. Maybe it is in comparison with other coaches. Like Academy Award. But sometimes the best movie of the year award doesn’t guaranty that the movie is worth watching.
I congratulate coach Nesty. But at the same time I have to admit that so much anticipated “Nesty miracle” hasn’t happened. His star veteran group hasn’t become faster.
For example, Katie Ledecky. Despite her current season looks more successful and less dramatic compare to Olympic season she was actually faster swimmer in 2021 season than she is now under Nesty’s tutelage. Her Tokyo performance was very much affected by overloaded difficult schedule and most likely not focusing on… Read more »
“I don’t know the criteria to evaluate the quality of coach job.”
If you think Nesty is concerned with Ledecky’s 2022 championship season compared to properly preparing her for the 2024 championship season, then yea, clearly you don’t understand why we employ macrocycles to create long term development in an athlete.
If my choices with Katie Ledecky, if she signed up with my club, were 1) 100% chance to go best times in 2022 and maybe swim 0.5% faster in 2024, or 2) 20% chance to go best times in 2022 and maybe swim 2.5% faster in 2024 … the choice would be obvious.
Granted, the %s are hypothetical, but I hope you understand my point. Ledecky isn’t there… Read more »
I understood your point and completely agreed with the priorities in coach’s job you mentioned. But when you are dealing with super talented athletes who are closer to retirement than to the time when personal bests were made then you may not wait for tomorrow because tomorrow may not happen simply for biological reasons regardless your coaching efforts.
I think you remember how much anticipated were any races of Katie Ledecky first months after leaving coach Meehan. Do you think everybody are not familiar with the macrocycles coaching approach?
No, that was because they believed that Katie Ledecky was too much for the successful college head coach whose major concern was team achievement. The difference was expected right away.