Welcome to the Swimming and Diving - Boys 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.

IHSA Sectional Champions
2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012

Metro Catholic Association Conference Champions
1964, 1965, 2011

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 2011-12 season was a successful campaign as the team posted an 7-2 record and winning their tenth consecutive Sectional title and qualified ten for the state meet. The team set five new team records and Brayden Amendola achieved All-State status. The 2012 girls’ team had a great year as well winning the IHSA Sectional Championship for the eighth year in a row and qualifying ten swimmers for the IHSA State Meet and finishing 8th place at the state meet to go with 10 All-American performances.

Not only will St. Ignatius offer you a top-notch education but also it will 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 boys’ swimming and diving season is a winter sport that runs from mid November to late February, 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, please fill out the Swimming and Diving Questionnaire.