Surprisingly, when asked whether they would prefer to be a the big boss or an assistant, many college head coaches will tell you they'd rather be an assistant. It's a role where they often get to coach without the outside obligations a head coach must deal with.Many can talk the talk, but Mike Litzinger has walked that walk, and fewer have done it more successfully. Prior to his arrival in Chapel Hill, LItzinger served as head coach at Fredonia State, St. Bonaventure and Utah. This year we recognize Litz as one of our Honorable Mentions for Assistant Coach-of-the-Year.
Nomination from Rich DeSelm, Head Coach, University of North Carolina
Mike Litzinger has been an Assistant Coach at UNC for six seasons. For the past two, he has served as Associate Head Coach. Mike has been an invaluable member of our staff in all aspects of the program. He is a sharp, efficient administrator. He is an outstanding recruiter. He works well within our Athletic Department. He communicates effectively with the men and women on our teams. He is an experienced coach who can guide training and motivate swimmers to excel.
This year, in particular, Mike had a significant role in the success of our team. In our coaching structure, Mike's coaching role is with our Middle Distance/Stroke Group. The results from the men in that group were very strong. Freshmen Ben Colley, Nic Graesser & Kurt Wohlrab were strong contributors at the ACC Championships and qualified for the NCAA Championships. Junior Alex Gianino crushed his best times and finaled in three events at the ACC's.
The women's results should solidify Mike's candidacy for this award.
Mike primarily guided an awesome threesome of Katie Nolan, Cari Blalock and Meredith Hoover. All three women were outstanding at the ACC Championships and even better at the NCAA's. Katie Nolan was 5th in the 100 Fly & 10th in the 200 Fly; Cari Blalock set ACC Records in the 200 & 400 IM's this year and at NCAA's was 3rd in the 200 Fly, 8th in the 400 IM & 10th in the 200 IM. Meredith Hoover, in her first NCAA's, set an ACC Record in the prelims and placed 4th in the 200 Fly during finals.
These three women joined our other nine at NCAA's to help UNC finish in 12th place, up from 19th in 2012 and 23rd in 2011. This was our best finish in 12 years and second highest in 26 years.
Mike Litzinger is a dedicated Head Assistant Coach and is an outstanding candidate for Assistnt Coach of the Year!
Nomination from Meredith Hoover, Student-Athlete
It is with great honor and pride that I support the nomination of Mike Litzinger for Assistant Coach-of-the-Year. Mike has been instrumental in my success, both athletically and academically, as well as the success of the University of North Carolina Swim Team.
I came to UNC as a recruited walk-on with the desire to play a role in the success of the team that I had grown to love during my teenage years. Although I received no athletic financial aid, I received the same attention from Mike that he gave to those student-athletes who were on full scholarship. With Mike’s training, coaching, and support, both in and out of the pool, I have made strides that would have been impossible without him. Mike has led me to make dramatic improvements in swimming every year -- from earning my first NCAA B-cut my freshman year, to placing 5th in the 200 fly at ACC Championships my sophomore year, to ultimately placing 4th at NCAA Championships while setting a new school and ACC record in the 200 butterfly during my junior year. I know without a shadow of a doubt that Mike has been the biggest factor in my success and I will be forever grateful to him.
Mike has not only been instrumental in my own improvement, but he has also played a key role in the team’s overall improvement. Since 2011, the UNC Women’s swim team moved from a 23rd place finish to a 19th place finish to a 12th place finish at NCAA Championships. The 2013 finish of 12th place was the team’s highest finish in 12 years and the second highest finish in 26 years. As coach of the mid-distance and stroke group, Mike coached many swimmers (including ACC Swimmer-of-the-Year Cari Blalock) who improved on their entry times and seed positions and thus scored vital points that contributed to this success.
Mike has not only been an excellent coach at the pool, but he has been supportive of the student-athletes’ goals and dreams outside of the water. He frequently stresses the importance of “being a student first” and expects his student-athletes to make the same commitment to success in the classroom that they make to swimming. He can often be found at the pool running extra practices for swimmers whose class schedules conflict with our regular practice schedule. As a result of this commitment to academics, the UNC Women’s swim team has repeatedly earned academic recognition both at UNC and nationally.
In summary, I think Mike would be a great choice as the Assistant Coach of the Year. He has helped me and many other student athletes to reach our goals in the pool as well as imparting skills to help us succeed in life, and it is with great enthusiasm that I support his nomination.
