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Welcome to the Swimming and Diving - Girls home page. For additional information
on the Swimming and Diving program please contact our coach - Mr. David Stephens
at david.stephens@ignatius.org
. For a complete faculty and staff contact list, please visit our Contact Info page.
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IHSA State Finals
2012 8th Place
IHSA Sectional Champions
2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012
My name is David Stephens, and I am the head swimming and diving coach at St. Ignatius
College Prep. I am currently in my thirteenth year coaching the girls’ and boys’
teams. I grew up in Atlanta, Georgia and swam for the Dynamo Swim Club. I continued
my swimming career at the University of Michigan, which won the 1995 NCAA Men’s
Swimming National Title. I swam under Olympic coach John Urbanchek and trained with
the world’s elite, including world record holders Tom Dolan, Tom Malchow and Eric
Namesnik. Following my graduation from the University of Michigan, I moved to Chicago
for law school and became the swim coach at St. Ignatius along the way.
With the assistance of my former coach I have created a program that mirrors the
type of program used at the University of Michigan. This program includes threshold
training, active rest and VO2 max swimming in addition to drylands, weights and
plyo metrics. It may sound somewhat complex but it has proven successful. In my
eleven years at St. Ignatius the program has had 80 state qualifiers for 344 events,
81 NISCA All-Americans, 277 sectional champions and 111 conference champions. I
have also been named sectional coach of the year sixteen times and conference coach
of the year twice. I believe these awards are a reflection of all the hard work
the swimmers and coaching staff put into the program. In addition to succeeding
in the water, I demand that my swimmers succeed in the classroom. The girls’ and
boys’ swim teams have both been named IHSA Team Academic Achievement Winners for
12 consecutive years. Additionally we have had 56 NISCA Academic All-Americans in
the past ten years. Whether it is breaking 30 seconds in the 50 free, scoring at
state, swimming in college or qualifying for nationals I am confident that I can
take any dedicated and motivated swimmer to the next level.
The 2012 campaign was a great success for the girls’ team. The girls finished the
dual meet season with a 7-3 record. They were 2nd at F/S Conference and 3rd at Varsity
Conference. The Wolfpack captured their eighth consecutive IHSA Sectional Championship
and qualified ten girls for the IHSA State Meet finishing in 8th place. The team
posted 11 All-State and 10 All-American performances in addition to setting 11 new
team records. The 2012 boys’ team had a great year as well setting 5 new team records,
posting several All-State performances and winning the IHSA Sectional Championship
for the tenth year in a row.
Not only will St. Ignatius offer you a top-notch education, but it will also provide
you with an opportunity to become a successful swimmer. Swimming literally takes
you places, and I want to have swimming take you as far as you want to go. I know
that choosing a high school is a big decision, but I want you to know that I am
passionate about swimming and coaching. I want to share that passion for the sport
with you. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
The girls’ swimming and diving season is a fall sport that runs from mid August
to mid November, and all swimmers are encouraged to participate in summer and/or
year round swim programs. Prospective swimmers are encouraged to fill in the questionnaire
located at the top of this page.
If you wish to join the team, fill out the
Swimming and Diving Questionnaire