MELBOURNE, Fla. (Men’s and Women’s Swimming) – Florida Tech head men’s and women’s swimming coach Justin Andrade announced Tuesday the hiring of Christa Prior as assistant swimming coach for the Panther program.
“I am honored and very excited to join the Florida Tech program this July as the new men’s and women’s assistant swimming coach,” said Prior. “I would like to thank Bill Jurgens, Justin Andrade, Jonathan Kleinhenz and the entire athletics community for the great opportunity. I look forward to working with the student-athletes and being involved in the many functions of the athletic department.”
In a relatively short amount of time, the former student-athlete at the University of Hawaii has amassed a wealth of experience at various swimming clubs and organizations in Hawaii and California.
Since February 2014 Prior has served as a graduate assistant on the Concordia University Irvine men’s and women’s swimming team in Irvine, California. In her role, she designed and administered the strength and conditioning program utilized by the Eagles for the 2014-15 season. She also planned and managed the imagery techniques and relaxation program for the team and assisted the coaching staff with daily duties and meet functions.
Prior got her start on the coaching side of the pool as a swim instructor at Swim Hawaii in Honolulu. There she coordinated practices and assessed client’s abilities, placing them in the proper class for their level. She also worked under Dr. Jan Prins, researching swimming mechanics and analytics.
Over the course of the past year Prior has also developed her instruction and leadership skills working for numerous swimming organizations in Southern California, including SwimLabs LCC, Equinox Sport Club, Newport Beach Swimming and NOVA Aquatics.
Before entering the coaching ranks, Prior competed at the collegiate level, starting out at Shasta Community College in Redding, California. At Shasta, Prior was a two-time Bay Valley Champion Swimmer of the Year. After earning her associate’s degree at Shasta, she moved on to Division I Hawaii, where she earned Mid-Major Honorable Mention All-American honors as a senior.
During her final year as a Rainbow Wahine, Prior brought home the Western Athletic Conference Championship in the 100-yard backstroke. She finished her career as Hawaii’s all-time record holder in the 100-yard backstroke (54.07) and 200-yard backstroke (1:56.91).
“Christa has a passion for swimming and working with student-athletes,” said Andrade. “She brings a great deal of enthusiasm and knowledge that will be very beneficial. Her strong communication skills will help build our Panther family culture and help us recruit great student-athletes. She is a great addition to our staff and I’m looking forward to continuing the success of our program.”
A native of Chico, California, Prior will officially start at FIT on July 20.
Swimming news courtesy of Florida Tech Swimming.
Great hire!
Christa is an extremely hard worker and will relate well to all their athletes.
She has done an excellent job at each stop so far and brings passion to the pool deck.
Couldn’t be more excited for her and the Panthers, it looks to be a great fit.
Florida Tech is lucky to have her!