After deliberating for over a month, Penn State named John Hargis as the new head coach of the men and women's swimming and diving programs. Hargis was an assistant coach for the Nittany Lions from 2003-2006, and is currently the head coach of both the women's team at Arkansas-Little Rock and the Little Rock Arkansas Dolphins swimming club.
"I am very excited to return to Penn State," Hargis said. "It feels good to be back. There is a lot left to continue in the tradition of Penn State swimming."
Hargis will be just the second person to head the men and women's swimming programs since they merged in 2000. He will officially take over the team on July 7 when 20 members of the Lions return from Olympic Trials in Omaha, Neb.
Although the majority of the team is focusing on trials right now which begin on Sunday, June 29, senior Vince Reydams said it is a benefit to the Lions to have a new head coach who is familiar with the program. He said he and his teammates are ready for the change.
"We have known that the change would be made for awhile now, so the initial shock of the whole thing has passed. I think we are just ready to adapt," Reydams said. "John Hargis has been a champion; he has won an Olympic gold medal. He is going to bring a lot of success to our team because he has a winning spirit and a champion drive."
Hargis is already accredited with bringing success to Penn State. He was instrumental in recruiting senior Pat Schirk, who won the NCAA Championship in the 200 backstroke this year. Hargis also created the training methods for the sprinters in the breaststroke and IM.
The senior members of the team experienced Hargis' impact when they trained under him during their freshman season. They are excited to work with him again although they said they will be seeing a different side of him since he will be head coach instead of an assistant coach.
"I worked with him during my freshman year, and he is just a positive person in that he wants everyone to excel," Reydams said. "He wants to raise the standards of Penn State swimming while maintaining the tradition we have established here."
Hargis will begin his work for Penn State immediately as the recruiting period begins on July 1. He said the Lions have a lot of work to do when it comes to recruiting, but even though he has not picked his staff yet, he guaranteed that they would be "one of the hardest working in the Big Ten."
Once Hargis makes his way to State College he said the first step is to make sure the student athletes are comfortable through the transition. After that, he plans on continuing on the successful seasons both the men and women's teams have experienced in past years.
"One of my goals is to continue the great tradition here at Penn State," Hargis said. "Bill Dorenkott and past coaches have made footprints for success and now I just have to follow them."
