St. Andrews University Director of Athletics Glenn Batten has announced the hiring of Taylor Cooper as the new head Men and Women’s Swim coach for the Knights.
Cooper will be replacing the departing Brooks Teal, who has been the SAU coach for the last three seasons and will now be moving on to tackle a new challenge after he takes the current team to NAIA Nationals on March 3-5.
“I am pleased that Coach Cooper will be joining St. Andrews University. His broad experience as a player, coach and teacher made him a great match for our program. He understands our commitment to the NAIA and character-driven intercollegiate athletics,” Batten said.
Coach Teal Says, “Taylor Cooper is a coach and a man that I have great respect for. I have known Taylor for many years, have followed his coaching career from the beginning when he was a graduate assistant at Duke, and as he led some of the top USA Swimming and YMCA programs in the country. We have worked closely together during my time at St. Andrews, and he was my number one choice to take this program and continue to build on what we have begun. These swimmers and this team are very important to me, and I am thrilled to have such a great leader as Taylor Cooper to take over here as I move on to the next chapter in my career.”
“I’m happy and honored to take this job,” says Cooper. “Brooks has done an excellent job laying the foundation for a top flight team. I am looking forward to working with the staff and swimmers of St. Andrews University and to taking the program to the next level.”
Cooper comes to St. Andrews from Sandhills Sandsharks Swimming in Pinehurst, NC where he has been the head coach since 1995. He is also the NCS Open Water Chair for 15 years, a National Open Water Committee member, and a USA Swimming Certified Coach. While at Sandhills he has grown open water champs from 40-1,000 and has sent 20 plus swimmers on to college scholarships.
Cooper has 35 plus years coaching at various levels as well as being a swim school manager and teacher. He also has coached at numerous YMCAs in four different states (Florida, N. Carolina, Ohio, and California), while winning YMCA Nationals in Sarasota, FL from 1991-95. He has coached various age group YMCA champs as well as coaching at two California high schools in the 80s.
He has also been an assistant coach at Duke University in 1987-88.
Cooper, who attended Temple University (Pa.), is an eight-time U.S. Senior National Qualifier and a Junior College first team All-American as well as a USA Swimming Certified Coach and has coached over 10 Olympic Trials Qualifiers.
Cooper will begin work immediately in preparation for the upcoming 2016-17 season.
