The University of Tampa Spartans swim teams are having strong seasons in 2010 as the womens team is undefeated, and the men are 2-2.
Their success is a testament to the coaching staff led by Head Coach Ed Brennan, along with Assistant Coaches Jim Kiner, Ryan Gober and Phil Murray.
“Jim Kiner, Phil Murray and Ryan Gober are the best coaching staff in Division II. That’s no exaggeration,” Brennan said.
It is difficult to fully comprehend the work that the coaching staff puts into the team, even for the swimmers themselves.
Now that former UT swimmer Shane Armbrister is a lifeguard with the team, he works closely with the coaches and can really appreciate all the work they put into preparing the team.
“They really put a lot of time and a lot of effort into their practices. They spend even more time figuring out the meets and putting people where we need them to be,” Armbrister said.
“They all really know what they’re doing. They put a lot of time and a lot of focus into this team and it really shows.”
The knowledge that Armbrister referenced comes from experience.
Coach Brennan has been the head coach of the swim teams at UT for 31 years. He didn’t decide to become a coach until his college years.
During Brennan’s sophomore year at Long Island University, his coach was suffereingfrom leukemia. Brennan started teaching his coach’s physical education classes in his place.
“The university gymnastics coach would check in on the classes once a week and he told me I had a gift for teaching and coaching,” Brennan said. “Since I apparently didn’t have a gift for business, I took his advice, changed my major and have never regretted it.”
Brennan began his coaching career at Columbia Prep School in New York City, then coached at Fordham University prior to moving on to UT.
It was not an easy transition to make, though. Brennan and his wife Lois had started to expand their family and were looking for a more suburban area to raise their family.
He applied for many different positions, and Tampa was the most appealing.
Brennan had to move things along on his own, however.
“I wasn’t even offered an interview. I flew myself in and asked Dr. Birrenkott, who was the athletic director at the time, for an interview,” he said.
The move paid off. The teams’ and swimmers’ accomplishments under Brennan’s tenure at UT speak for themselves.
Individual swimmers have placed in 29 National Championships, including team National Championships from 2000-2002. Over 100 of his swimmers have earned All-American status.
One of those All-American swimmers is Assistant Coach Jim Kiner.
In high school, Kiner played football, baseball and basketball in addition to swimming.
“When I came to UT, it was the first time I only played one sport,” Kiner said.
He was able to put all his athletic energy into the one sport quite well, displayed by his very successful tenure at UT.
During the 2001 season, Kiner was a national champion in the 100-yard breaststroke, as well as the school record holder in the 100 and 200-yard breaststroke (those records have since been beaten).
He was a two-time runner-up in the national championships and 22-time All-American.
He even qualified for Olympic Trials in 2000. After graduating from UT with a degree in finance, Kiner found that finance was not the right path for him.
“I hated being inside all day long,” Kiner said.
Kiner had maintained a close relationship with Brennan, who he said has been like a father figure during his time in Tampa. Brennan has been helpful in multiple facets of Kiner’s life.
“He has guided me through the coaching ups and downs. His knowledge has helped me not only with coaching and swimming, but also life outside the pool,” Kiner said.
Together, along with Gober and Murray, Coach Brennan and Assistant Coach Kiner work to prepare a team that is competitive and has the chance of winning every meet.
The combination of Brennan’s long tenure at UT and the rest of the coaching staff are all graduates of the UT swimming program provides a level of stability regarding practices and preparation.
“They know what the training is, what to expect, and how far to push us,” senior swimmer Michael Vinci said.
The coaches also share the same philosophies, while adding their own unique perspective to the teams.
For Coach Brennan, it is important that the swimmers have fun because swimming is different than other sports.
“I tell parents of kids getting into the sport that it’s more like practicing piano than soccer. My training philosophy is to try to “play” swimming as much as possible,” Brennan said.
April Weiner can be reached at april.weiner@spartans.ut.edu.