ASCA Elects 6 Coaches to Board of Directors; Bill Dorenkott Takes Over as President

Three coaches were re-elected, and three others newly-elected, to the Board of Directors of the American Swimming Coaches’ Association (ASCA) for the new quad at the organization’s annual meeting earlier this month, while Ohio State head coach Bill Dorenkott was voted as the organization’s new president.

Over 600 coaches voted to decide who would steer the organization for professional swim coaches in the United States.

Dorenkott has been the head coach of the women’s program at Ohio State since 2008 and the men’s program since 2017. In addition to being re-elected to the board for a new three-year term, he takes over as president of the organization for Mike Murray, who remains on the board through 2026.

Coaches who Won Election/Re-Election

• Bill Dorenkott – Ohio State University (re-elected)
• Ellen Johnston – Westport/Weston Family YMCA Water Rats Swim Team (re-elected)
• Emily Melina – Lake Oswego Swim Club (re-elected)
• Laura Mitchell – Alto Swim Club (new director)
• Michael Norment – University of Georgia (new director)
• Peter Verhoef – Bolles Swimming (new director)

The newly formed Board elected the following officers:

• President – Bill Dorenkott
• Vice President – Emily Melina
• Treasurer – Ellen Johnston
• Secretary – Ian Murray

The six were among 10 candidates to fill the spots vacated by the end-of-terms for former ASCA president Mike Koleber and Mohamed Abdelaal, neither of whom were on the ballot for re-election, and to fill the last two years of Megan Oesting’s seat after she moved overseas to take over as the technical director for the Malaysian Swimming Federation.

The six individuals elected were the six individuals nominated by the governance committee; none of the four self-nominated candidates were chosen.