Former Minnesota swimming standout and longtime swim coach Tim Daly passed away on Christmas Eve. Daly was 58.
Daly was diagnosed with esophageal and colon cancer in the year 2013. Despite undergoing chemotherapy and radiation in the three years since, Daly continued to coach through the fall 2016 season. Daly finished his coaching career with the Mound-Westonka-Holy Family high school girls team.
Daly first started as an assistant coach with Minnetonka High School in 1982. He took over as head coach not long after and headed up the powerhouse swimming program for years. He also coached for the Mach 3 Flyers club team in the area.
Prior to that, Daly was a standout in the pool. He was a local Minnesota product of Lincoln High School, and eventually went on to swim for the University of Minnesota.
He was a pillar of Minnesota’s swimming community, and coaches across the state have paid their respects since Daly’s passing on Saturday. The Minneapolis Star Tribune has a detailed obituary of Daly here, complete with quotes from coaches and swimmers impacted by Daly’s career. We’ve included a few of them below:
Ryann Beyer, senior captain of Daly’s last Mound-Westonka-Holy Family high school team: “Everyone felt so connected to him. He made you feel so special. You felt like you could move mountains with his confidence in you.”
Tim Firstbrook, who coached both with and against Daly over the years: “So much of what he did was beyond being on the pool deck. He loved the swimmers.”
Dan Endy, a Gopher alumnus who swam with Daly in college: “If God needs someone to anchor — or coach — his 800 Free Relay team, Tim might just be a good choice,” Endy wrote on social media. “On the other hand, if God needs someone to give us all a lesson in how to die with dignity, grace and absolute, unequivocal selflessness, then Tim would be the BEST choice.”
From the Star Tribune piece: “Daly also made it a point to know people in his community — from the workers at the grocery store to his caregivers at the hospital. He shoveled driveways in the neighborhood and secretly added to the fairy garden of a young neighbor girl, telling her only recently that he was the culprit.”
There will be a funeral mass for Daly on Friday at 11 AM. It will take place at Our Lady of the Lake in Mound, MN. There will be a visitation for an hour beforehand, as well as from 4-8 Thursday night.
HUGE LOSS for the Minnesota Swimming Community! Tim was a fantastic coach and an insane competitor as an athlete. You will be missed my friend!
Why is 2016 taking so many great people from us? So sad, his coaching at Minnesota will never be forgotten. Curse you 2016