Richard Sybesma Position: Head Coach | 33rd Season Alma Mater: Texas Tech | 1975

Email: r.sybesma@tcu.edu
Phone: 817-257-7963

One name is synonomous with TCU Swimming and Diving. That name is Richard Sybesma. He enters his 33rd year at the helm of the TCU swimming and diving program. With him he brings the entire history of the team, his winning record, his keen leadership and intuition and half of his life. In 1978, he took the TCU club sport of swimming and turned it into the powerhouse that it is today.

Sybesma has coached in more than 600 dual meets, and his overall career record now stands at 404-274-4 (.593).

The legendary coach saw TCU claim another individual conference title in 2011 as Sabine Rasch won the Mountain West crown in the 100-freestyle. Sybesma led her to only TCU's second individual title on the women's side and first since 2007.

Sybesma's men's squad came just short of repeating as the MWC dual champions, falling only to eventual champion UNLV. The Frog men went 4-1 overall in 2010-11, while the women posted a 4-4 record.

In 2010, the Horned Frog men captured their first dual meet Mountain West conference championship. He led the Frogs to a 7-0 record, including a 5-0 record in the MWC. At the MWC Championships, Sybesma led the men to a fifth-place finish and the women to a seventh-place finish.

Sybesma helped lead Edgar Crespo to the NCAA Championships, becoming the first Frog since 2008 to qualify for the NCAAs and only the second since 1997. Crespo won the MWC indvidual title in the 100-breast, headlining a group of 14 H2O Frogs on the all-MWC team.

In 2009, the Frogs rewrote 13 new school records, had 16 All-Mountain West Conference team members and enjoyed one MWC individual champion. The women's squad finished the campaign with an 8-3-1 overall record and a seventh place finish in the MWC Championship standings, while the men earned a 4-5 record and a fifth place finish in Oklahoma City.

The Frogs' 16 All-MWC members compiled honors in 23 events, as TCU also ended the season with eight MWC Swimmer/Diver of the Week award winners. Out of the water, both squads earned Academic All-America status for their outstanding achievements in the classroom.

In 2008, Sybesma had 11 student-athletes earn 22 All-Mountain West Conference selections, as the men's team placed fifth and the women's team finished sixth at the MWC Championships.

The men put together a successful year setting three new school records and compiling 11 MWC weekly honors. Senior Jonathon Berrettini became the first TCU swimmer to qualify for the NCAA Championships since 1997, recording a time of 56.69 in the 100-meter back, the fifth best time nationally among collegiate swimmers.

The women's squad was led by youth, as 12 freshman contributed to 77 top-three finishes and five newcomers earned their first collegiate victories. Stephanie Futscher led the squad with seven event wins. Maria Paula Alvarez joined the club in the spring and earned six wins in as many meets.

In 2006-07, he led the Horned Frogs to a 19-7 dual meet record and tallied his 350th career win on Nov. 18, 2006 against San Diego State and Centenary.

Sixteen Frogs were named to the All-Mountain West Conference team in 2007, and Guillermo Ramirez and Cheryl Townsend both claimed MWC Individual Titles. The Frogs also set four new school records and set two NCAA "B" qualifying times.

In TCU's inaugural year in the Mountain West Conference in 2006, the women's squad set a school record with 15 victories and also swam to a strong fourth-place showing at the conference championships. Overall, the men and women held a dual meet record of 21-6.

Prior to joining the Mountain West Conference, the Frogs spent four seasons in Conference USA. During that time, TCU collected five conference titles and tallied an overall dual meet record of 78-20.

In 2004, Sybesma led the Horned Frogs to a 21-3 dual meet record and the first ever single-school sweep at the C-USA Championships. Craig Chapman earned Swimmer of the Meet honors, after the junior notched three invidual titles and was a member of two winning relay teams. On Feb. 7, Sybesma tallied his 300th career win after the Frogs swept a dual against Centenary.

During his tenure, he has also coached 18 All-Americans, seven National Champions, 17 Olympic trial qualifiers and three Olympian. In addition, all TCU swimming and diving records have been set during his coaching career and during the 1999-2000 campaigns, the men ranked among the top-25 in the nation.

Sybesma has been honored as the Coach of the Year four times in his career. In 2004, he received the honor after leading the Frogs to a conference sweep. In 2002, Sybesma earned the Coach of the Meet honors at the C-USA Men's Invitational Championship after the men claimed their first of four consecutive conference titles.

As a coach in the Southwest Conference, he was named the Coach of the Year on three different occasions (1981, 1989, 1991). On the national level, Sybesma was honored with the Master Coach Award in 1992 that is given by the College Swim Coaches Association.

In addition, he was also the recipient of the C-USA Student Athlete Advisory Committee's Coaches Award (SAAC) as voted on by student athletes from around the conference. This honor is given to the coach who exemplifies a commitment to creating a positive academic and athletic atmosphere while fostering the student-athlete's development and welfare.

His resume doesn't end there. In 1996, Sybesma coached the Nicaraguan Olympic swim team at the Atlanta games. He took Walter Soza and Jason Flint to the NCAA Championships, where in 1997, Flint placed 16th in the 200-yard breaststroke. That same year, Sybesma tallied his 200th dual meet win. In 2001, in memory of former Horned Frog swimmer Matt Walter, he carried the Olympic Torch through the TCU campus.

In 2003, Sybesma was invited to coach at the NCAA Division I Men's Swimming Youth Education Through Sports (YES) in New York.

Sybesma's swimmers not only excel in the pool, but in the classroom as well. The College Coaches Association has named his women's team to its Academic All-American swim team for 34 consecutive semesters. The men have also tallied that honor 12 times under his guidance.

In 2009, 26 swimmers and divers were named to the Academic All-MWC Team, which led all other TCU sports. Twelve Frogs were also named MWC Scholar-Athletes for earning a GPA of 3.5 or higher.

Sybesma is also extremely involved in the community. He has conducted swim lessons and clinics in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Malaysia, as well as here in Fort Worth. His international connection also extends to Fort Worth's sister city, Reggio Emilia, Italy, where he coached in 1987. Sybesma has also been a speaker at the NISCA Clinic, TIS--CA and the Southwest Coaches Clinic.

Sybesma graduated from Texas Tech University in 1975 with a Bachelor's degree in Physical Education. While with the Red Raiders, he was a three-year letterman and captain of the swim team. In 1992, he earned his Master of Liberal Arts degree from TCU. Sybesma has two daughters, Courtney (26) and Katy (24), who both graduated from TCU in May 2007. Katy also married Ryan Eliott in May 2007.