Steve Mazurek | Head Swimming and Diving Coach & Director of Aquatics, West Chester University
How to Coach Invincibility: An Ancient Playbook for Modern Teams
In his brief tenure as head coach, his men’s and women’s programs have combined to produce twelve PSAC championship teams, three individual national champions, and three national record holders. Since 2017, he’s been named the PSAC Coach of the Year nine times, and his athletes have combined for 14 major conference awards – most recently McKenzie Hemingway, the 2024 PSAC Women’s Swimmer of the Year, Paul Demesy, the 2024 PSAC Men’s Swimmer of the Year, and Danny Dunnigan, the 2024 PSAC Men’s Freshman of the Year. Ann Carozza, a three-year captain, national champion, and national record holder, was selected as a top-thirty honoree for the 2023 NCAA Woman of the Year Award. Georgia Wright, one of Carozza’s teammates, was recognized by the CSCAA as one of the 100 greatest collegiate women swimmers of all time, winning eight national championships and setting one national record.
In each of his years as head coach, his teams have been named Academic All-American, routinely combining to post the best team GPA in the PSAC and one of the best nationally (the men and women combined for third-best team GPA in Division II Swimming and Diving in 2022-23).
In addition to the good work being done in the pool and in the classrooms, the Golden Rams place an emphasis on cultural training: communication drills and leadership symposiums are fixtures on the West Chester pool deck. The program also hosts one of the largest seasonal swimming camps in the country each year.