Nomination from Tim WelshNotre Dame Men's Swimming and Diving Team is proud and excited to nominate Matt Tallman for the Assistant Coach of the Year Award in the "Rising Assistant" category. Even though Matt has been here for a dozen years, we see him as a rising star, who will soon be recognized as one of collegiate swimming's major head coaches.
In the last year alone, Matt's contribution to college swimming is enough to earn him "rising star" commendations. Matt played a major role in the process that led to current major revision of the selection procedure for swimmers to qualify for the Division I NCAA Championships. Matt did the background digging and the background homework for the discussions, and provided the CSCAA and the NCAA with factual names and number data on how the proposed change would impact Division I Swimming. Matt also met with the NCAA administration in a meeting that eventually led to the provision allowing teams to bring up to 4 Relay Only qualifiers to the Meet. With Matt's help, the new selection procedure was adopted, and did allow more teams to compete in the NCAA Championships than in the previous few years.
Here at home in our pool, Matt played a major coaching role in helping our Notre Dame Men's team advance 5 individual qualifiers and 4 relay only qualifiers to the NCAA Championships, our largest national team ever. Two of these individuals and one of our relays scored at the Meet, marking the first time we have had more than one individual score, and marking our first relay to score ever. In the past three years, our NCAA qualifiers have gone from 1 individual to 2 individuals to 5 individuals... along with the Relay Only Qualifiers this year. Matt has played a major role in this growth and development of our team. In addition to his coaching, Matt took a leading role in recruiting each of these NCAA qualifiers.
Matt has also played a major role in coaching our team to win its second consecutive BIG EAST Conference Title and our 6th in the past 9 years. Matt contributed to each one of those Conference Championships.
For our pool deck and our training, Matt has designed a pulley system that allows as many as 40 athletes to train with weights on a pulley system at one time. This is a major development for our power and strength training in the water.
For all of these reasons and more, we are excited to nominate Matt Tallman for this National College Assistant-of-the-Year Award. – Tim Welsh
Nomination from John Lytle
Over the course of the past eight years, I have gotten to know Matt Tallman as a recruit, a student-athlete, an alumnus, and most recently as a volunteer assistant coach. Our relationship has developed from being acquaintances as coach and recruit to a professional and personal friendship. Though much has changed over the years, what remains constant is Matt's ability to develop a connection at the base of every relationship. Whether it is with a current swimmer or former student-athlete, Matt is able to build a connection that lasts more than four years and allows him to be an effective coach on the pool deck.
As a swimmer under Matt, i quickly came to realize his energy and his attention to detail as a coach. Whether it is an early morning practice or during a Meet, he always has a keen attention to details that will make a difference at the end of the season. He also knows when to offer words of encouragement or offer necessary critique. Even more, he understands how his swimmers respond to various types of feedback and can tailor his coaching in order to get the best reaction out of his athletes.As a volunteer coach alongside Matt this past season, what has been made even more apparent is his love for the sport of swimming and his desire not only to win, but to exceed expectations also. All of these traits have served him well and have enabled him to achieve much success in his career as a coach at Notre Dame. Going forward, there is no doubt in my mind that he will continue to connect with student-athletes and excel to new heights as a coach in the sport of swimming. –
