Coach: Rob Nassar
High school: Valor Christian
Sport: swimming
What sports did you play when you were younger?
Swimming.
What got you started in a coaching career?
My club coach through my teen/college years who taught a lot of
us to be able to coach ourselves with the technical and training
elements of the sport.
What was your most rewarding moment(s) as a coach?
Seeing Valor graduate its first seniors last year and being able
to send them off with winning our first league title.
What was your most deflating moment(s)?
Having to deal with kids and parents who felt that their agenda
precedes that of the school and the team.
What is most important about having sports a part of the high
school experience?
The numerous life lessons and challenges that sports provides
that are applicable through your entire life.
What do you feel is the biggest struggle for high school sports
presently?
A consistently good working relationship with club teams without
putting the athlete in the middle.
If you could coach one professional sports team, which would it
be, and what changes would you make?
Probably the Colorado Rockies. I would be looking for ways to be
able to play at a World Series level over the long haul. It’s a
very long season and it’s too easy to let your guard down and get
in slumps. What can be done to keep that from happening, or at
least minimizing it. I’ve watched the Rockies dig themselves into a
hole too many times that they can’t seem to recover from, or they
do, but only at the point of being too late. It would be nice to
see them start strong and stay strong all year long and deep into
the playoffs.
If the team you’re coaching presently were to win the state
championship, what would you say would be the No. 1 reason for
it?
The quality of work that gets done day after day, practice after
practice, set after set. There’s no limit to what these kids are
willing to do to excel. They practice 9 times a week and have an
amazing group of parents, family and friends that support them. It
shows in all that they do.
What do you do for fun that isn’t related to the sport you
presently coach?
I know it’s still related to swimming, but I do still swim
masters competitively. It keeps me healthy and fitting in my pants.
I hate to go shopping for clothes.
Walt Disney pictures decides to make a motion picture about your
team and its achievements. What celebrity actor/actress would play
you in the movie?
Ryan Reynolds. Love his wit and sense of humor. Wife says he’s
easy on the eyes. Working this hard goes much better when you can
have fun with it and make everyone laugh, too.