Tyrrell Tabbed as New Assistant Coach for Harvard Men's Swimming and Diving

Former volunteer assistant Kevin Tyrrell has been named the assistant coach of the Harvard men’s swimming and diving team, head coach Tim Murphy announced Wednesday.

Tyrrell, who worked as a volunteer coach for the Crimson program from 2000-04, helping Harvard to two Ivy League titles, most recently served as the head coach of the University of Virgin Islands men’s and women’s swimming teams for three seasons.

Previously, Tyrrell, who has extensive international coaching experience, was the head coach of the U.S. Virgin Islands National Team from 2005-09 and led the team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In July 2009, he will serve as a head coach at the FINA World Championships in Rome and worked in a similar capacity at the 2007 World University Games in Bangkok, Thailand. At the Pan American Games in Brazil in 2007, Tyrrell coached seven swimmers to the semifinal round of the championships.

Tyrell also worked for four years as the head coach of the St. Croix Dolphins from 2005-2009. In that capacity, he worked with Misty Hyman, a 2000 Olympic gold medalist in the 200 butterfly.

From 1995-2000, Tyrrell spent his first stint as a head coach at Bishop Fenwick High School. A year later, he began a nine-year tenure as the head coach for the YMCA of the North Shore Sharks, achieving American Swimming Coaches Association Level 5 YMCA certification. In that position, he coached the largest YMCA swim team in the country with over 480 swimmers and 220 USA Swimming members. He guided the YMCA to a 62-6 dual meet record, nine YMCA New England championships and helped the YMCA earn 32 All-America honors from 1996-2005.

A 1992 graduate of Lafayette College, Tyrrell was a two-time captain for the Leopards, leading the team to second place at the 1992 ECAC Championship. He earned a master’s degree in education from Boston University in 2002.