Swimming and Diving Head Coach Bob Goldberg

University of Connecticut men’s and women’s swimming and diving head coach Bob Goldberg is entering his 20th season in charge of the program. It’s a milestone mark for most coaches, but Goldberg feels like an 18-year-old again.

“The funny thing about this job, and one of the many great things about coaching swimming with college student-athletes, is that every fall the freshmen arrive at 17 and 18 years old and bring with them a renewed sense of youth, energy and enthusiasm,” says Goldberg. “As their coach, you get to watch them experience the good and the bad, make adjustments to a new life throughout their first year and then a year or two later they become mentors to the next group of freshmen. To me, seeing and feeling the attitude of these kids supports the sense of pride and joy in what we are doing and keeps me thinking and feeling young. Every fall, I vicariously relive life through the eyes of 18 year olds all over again and I am reminded of why we work in higher education.”

The UConn program, under Goldberg’s direction, has a history of hard work and consistency.

“I have always been and still am a strong believer in consistency,” says Goldberg. “It may be a throwback attitude, but if you work hard every day good things will eventually happen to you. I have never been a fan of peaks and valley in the daily training or in life.”

The UConn women’s team has an all-time dual meet record of 144-53-3 under Goldberg’s direction, while the men are 139-67 for a combined mark of 283-120-3. The Huskies are annual participants in the United States Open and the USA Swimming Senior National Championships. UConn has been represented at the NCAA Championship under Goldberg’s direction and are consistent top performers at the BIG EAST Championship.

“We seem to get a number of swimmers who may not have totally developed in high school or on the club level and are just waiting to blossom in college,” says Goldberg. “In our program, they often explode as evidence by so many success stories. I love to see great kids swim fast – especially in their senior season when so many other swimmers have burned out.”

The consistent approach to daily training mixed in with over 35 years of collegiate coaching experience gives Goldberg the perspective to deal any challenge.

As the diving coach at Penn State from 1970 to 1985, Goldberg produced over 20 ECAC Conference champions, numerous NCAA qualifiers, All-Americans and USA Diving national level competitors. Most notable was Mary Ellen Clark, an All-American and eventual two-time Olympic bronze medalist. During his time at Penn State, he coached at several U.S. Olympic Festivals as well at the U.S. National Team in Rostock, East Germany in 1984. He was also a tenured professor at Penn State.

Goldberg gained valuable experience at North Carolina State, where he worked for three seasons as the school building a new Olympic pool and recreation center. He was also was a faculty member and responsible for the implementation of an undergraduate physical education minor.

He brought great enthusiasm to the UConn program in 1988 and was eager to get back to his New England roots.

Goldberg has developed UConn into a premier program and soon after his arrival, the Wolff-Zackin Natatorium opened. As Goldberg arrived in Storrs, UConn was establishing itself as a national player both on the academic and athletic front. The swimming program has benefited from several national championships in various sports and the UConn 2000/21st Century UConn programs.

The swimming and diving program has attracted student-athletes from a number of states and more than eight foreign countries. UConn has been represented on the national team and Olympic team selection process in the United States, Canada, Ireland, Saudi Arabia, Jamaica, Israel, Uruguay, Turkey and Australia.

Meanwhile, UConn swimming and diving student-athletes have been successful in the classroom under Goldberg with the long-time consistent help of academic advisor John Miceli, who is currently developing a “team study group concept” that hopes to involve the entire team and develop an internal pride in the team’s academic accomplishments.

“UConn is a challenging and competitive academic environment,” says Goldberg. “Yet, we have consistently been at or near the front of all UConn teams academically and have been recognized by the College Coaches Swimming Association as an Academic All-Star. We consistently place a number of swimmers on the BIG EAST All-Academic team and are constantly sending our alumni to graduate school, law, medical and dental school and professional schools in every discipline. When our UConn swimming and diving alumni get together, you realize what an impressive group they are based on their accomplishments.”

As a basic approach to swimming and life in general, Goldberg stresses some similar themes: Do good things every day – be consistent; Don’t let the little things get you down; See the big picture and be a good person; If we can do these things, most other things will take care of themselves.

Goldberg is a native of Watertown, Mass., and is a 1969 graduate of Springfield College. He received his master’s degree from Penn State in 1972 in biomechanics and did additional graduate work at North Carolina State.

He and his wife Alyce live in Mansfield Center, Conn., and have three children: David, who lives with his family in Austin, Texas; Scott, a UConn graduate, who lives with his family in Cincinnati; and Sarah, a UConn graduate, working for VISTA in Great Falls, Mont.