Posted on: Thursday, June 30, 2005
A program in troubled waters
By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Columnist
Rumor has it that along with lane markers, diving platforms and the like, the University of Hawai'i's Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex comes with a revolving door.
How else to explain the frequent comings and goings — mostly goings — of the place?
With the forced departure of men's and women's head swimming coach Mike Anderson, whose contract we're told was not renewed by the athletic department, UH will be looking for its sixth head coach in the sport in 10 years.
You wonder if the nameplate on the office comes with velcro backing.
Once upon a time the only thing around the pool that changed was the water. Al Minn coached the women for 14 years and Jan Prins the men for nine. And both did it well.
In a department where forced change in coaches comes around as often as a blue moon, the growing parade from swimming is both noteworthy and of concern.
Or, at least it should be if the intent is to build a program that represents a school surrounded by water. Whether a change was necessary — and UH has been tight-lipped on the reasons, citing privacy restrictions — what is known is that whoever replaces Anderson needs to be the one to end the coaching carousel.
It is too bad this has become a program in perpetual lurch (remember Sam Freas?) because it is one with both a past (three conference championships in the mid-1980s) and some future potential. The women, who have finished second in the Western Athletic Conference in back-to-back years, are coming off their second-best NCAA Championships finish (16th). Most of those who produced UH's highest point total ever (68) are divers and are eligible to return.
The men have four consecutive second-place finishes in the National Independent Conference, doing it this past season even with a roster high in attrition. What was a 20-man squad at the start of the season finished with 12.
Because swimming exists far beyond the limelight and falls into the classification of what is termed a "non-income" sport, it is easy to overlook. But for the kind of money UH is spending — about $1 million, including $700,000 on the combined men's and women's programs plus $140,000 for pool operations and other costs — the school needs to get its money's worth. A little consistency at the top would go a long way toward helping achieving it.
Finding the right person this time, somebody who can build a program and actually be around long enough to see the job through, has become a necessity.
Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.
