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Tim Edmonds, 2019 Pacific Masters Coach of the Year
Tim Edmonds of Stanford Masters Swimming has been selected as the 2019 Pacific Masters Swimming Coach of the Year. This award recognizes excellence in coaching skills and inspiration, as reflected by individual and club performance at sanctioned events, club vigor, size and growth, and service to the Masters swimming community.
Tim became the head coach at Stanford Masters Swimming in 2000, after serving as an assistant coach with the Stanford Women’s Varsity program. With Tim at the helm, membership expanded from fewer than 200 members to over 500 members at its peak enrollment. Currently, there are over 400 swimmers registered with Stanford Masters, making it one of the larger clubs within Pacific Masters Swimming.
While Stanford Masters is home to many former Olympic- and NCAA-caliber swimmers, the program is carefully and thoughtfully designed to meet the needs of swimmers of all abilities. Many of its members have achieved USMS All American status; however, the main emphasis of the program is on daily and life-long fitness rather than competition.
Tim has developed a program that serves a large and diverse club in an aquatics facility that is used by seven varsity teams, and that regularly serves as host to many national and international competitions. Despite these logistical challenges, Tim has implemented a Masters program that offers 21 scheduled workouts in a typical seven-day week.
In addition to devising workouts that emphasize specific themes to maximize swimmer development and improvements in technique, Tim always arrives with at least one joke to kick off the start of another practice. Tim is a living, breathing encyclopedia of jokes, with an uncanny memory for telling them in the most minute and colorful detail. Tim’s ritual of beginning every workout with a joke is legendary among the swimmers who have been a part of the Stanford Masters community over the years.
Tim has a longstanding policy of extending a warm welcome to all newcomers and out-of-town guests and there is never a drop-in fee. Holiday practices often follow special holiday themes, such as the annual “Reindeer Games” tradition. These workouts have a loyal following and often draw swimmers from other programs through word of mouth.
In 2015, Tim was named Director of Facilities at the Avery Aquatics Center. In this new role, Tim became a central figure in the recent modernization of the world-class stadium competition pool within Stanford’s aquatic complex.
Tim has worked tirelessly in all of these capacities. The result is an exceptional Masters swimming program that many of its members refer to as “the highlight of my day.”
Congratulations to you, Tim Edmonds, Pacific Masters Swimming Coach of the Year!
