Occidental Hires Alex Kuhn as Head Coach

LOS ANGELES, California, May 30. TWO years after taking the helm of the Sweet Briar College Swimming program, Alex Kuhn is switching coasts to take the reigns of the Occidental College men's and women's swimming and diving programs as the Head Coach of both programs as well as the Aquatics Director for the college.

Kuhn, a Washington College (Md.) graduate has been coaching for more than nine years at the collegiate and club levels. His two-year tenure at Sweet Briar was a successful one in which he was he was named the 2008 Old Dominion Athletic Conference Coach of the Year for his team's third place finish during his first season at the helm. His swimmers increased their ODAC point total by 300 points and three athletes were named to the All-ODAC team while 12 school records were broken. Kuhn also served as the Swimming Chairman for the ODAC.

Prior to coaching at Sweet Briar, he served as an assistant at Grinnell College (Ia.) for three years, leading both the men's and women's programs to consecutive conference titles in 2005, '06 and '07, while receiving his Master's Degree from the University of Iowa. Kuhn also coached the Kent County High School (Md.) team and helped the team to a 13-1 record in 2002.

While he is sad to leave SBC, he is up for the challenges that present themselves in Southern California.

"I am looking forward to the opportunity to create a national-caliber program at Occidental," he shared. "The academic mission is second to none and I am proud to be joining a college that provides an "Ivy-League" type of education. I can't wait to work with a great group of returning athletes and grow the Oxy Swimming & Diving Family."

Recruiting has always been a strong suit for Kuhn, who spent time as the Coordinator at Grinnell and nearly tripled his roster at Sweet Briar between 2007 and 2008.

"Alex comes with an eagerness and enthusiasm that will quickly prove to be not only a shot in the arm of the swim program, but also for the entire Occidental Aquatics community, said Director of Athletics, Jaime Hoffman. "His recruiting experience at both Grinnell and Sweet Briar is what was most impressive to the search committee. However, hearing of his of his creations of a triathlon course for credit at Grinnell and his creative fundraising ideas, I was convinced that his initiative would be a great impact on our entire department. We look forward to turning his ideas into action come July."

Additionally, Kuhn has served as a camp director and senior level consultant for Fluid Mechanics, working with many national-caliber swimmers in the areas of psychology, stroke technique, in-water training, and strength training. His innovative ideas and attention to detail has helped swimmers of all ability levels greatly improve their times.

He hopes to do the same for the Tigers while providing a family type of atmosphere for his team.

"What is family? Showing respect for your teammates, discipline while working towards individual and team goals and maintaining a positive attitude no matter the challenge."

Kuhn is up for the challenge.

The above article is a press release submitted to Swimming World Magazine. It has been posted in its entirety without editing. Swimming World offers all outlets the chance to reach our audience by contacting us at Newsmaster@swimmingworldmagazine.com. However, Swimming World reserves the right to choose what material is posted.

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