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ASU makes a 'splash' hire by bringing in Bob Bowman as its next head swimming coach

There is a lot of good in store for the Bob Bowman era with ASU swimming.

Bob Bowman press conference

Athletic director Ray Anderson announces Bob Bowman as the official swim coach for ASU at a press conference on April 24, 2015. Bowman has trained Michael Phelp's for most of his career and Phelp's will continue his training for the Olympics in Arizona.


ASU hiring Bob Bowman is more than just filling a head coaching vacancy; it's a commitment to uplift its swimming program and keep it on par with the standard that ASU athletic director Ray Anderson expects every sport to live up to — excellence. 

Since he took over, Anderson has exceeded expectations in hooking coaches who seemingly would never come to ASU, and Bowman is another example. 

Best known for coaching Phelps, Bowman has been the CEO and head coach at North Baltimore Aquatic Club since September 2008, with his last collegiate coaching experience coming at the University of Michigan from 2005-08. 

Bowman said Friday that he had been thinking about his post-Phelps life before ASU swooped in. 

"I just wanted it to be at a place where something special could happen, and that’s when I saw when I started talking to Ray (Anderson) and Dave (Cohen)," he said. "I fully believed that they are behind us 100 percent, and I wanted to be in a program where we could build something. It wasn’t already pre-made."

Anderson's timing was truly impeccable. 

For a college swimmer, learning from Bowman is like a basketball player learning from Mike Krzyzewski or Gregg Popovich, or even a football player learning from Bill Belichick — Bowman is one of the biggest names in swimming. 

Freshman breaststroker Christian Lorenz, who had a great season as one of the young, bright spots for the men's team, said he is excited to see how Bowman changes the culture of the program.

"When I think of great swimming coaches, Bob Bowman is at the very top of my list," he said. "I can't wait to see how he takes things by storm and surprises us. He seems to have a good plan in his head."

Just how big of a name is Bowman? 

Sophomore backstroker and freestyler Ingibjorg Jonsdottir said her family and friends in her native country of Iceland were calling her telling her how lucky she is to have an opportunity to be coached by Bowman. 

Lorenz was at the Mesa Grand Prix a little over a week ago. Bowman and Phelps were both there. 

Oh, how things change. 

"It was really crazy seeing them there because as a college swimmer, you idolize guys like that," Lorenz said. "Now, (Bowman) is our coach."

Bowman held a team meeting after his introductory press conference as a way for the swimmers to get to know him and lay out his overall plans for the program moving forward. Most notably, he told the team that it was the base for the program's future. 

Jonsdottir said she learned of the hiring when someone posted in the team's Facebook group, noting that everyone was in pure shock. 

"We kind of did not believe that he was our new coach," she said. "We didn't want to believe it, because at first, we didn't think it could be true. We all wanted to go to practice and start getting to work after that. It gave us goosebumps."

First impressions can be everything, but perhaps do not hold the same weight when a world-class coach starts at a program because the coach's accomplishments demand respect.

However, she immediately noticed his organized, structured personality, with clear-cut plans for the program's future.

"He has a frame he uses, and I really feel like this time fits into that frame," Jonsdottir said. 

On Friday, Bowman said he would see out coaching the Olympians through the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games in 2016. Both Lorenz and Jonsdottir are looking forward to seeing how the relationship between ASU swimming and Bowman's Olympians plays out.

"It means a lot because we're going to get to see world-class swimmers," Jonsdottir said. "Obviously, we can learn a lot from them, but I think they can learn a little bit from us too, so the relationship will be good for everyone."

Lorenz said there were of course concerns, especially with a few rumors saying ASU swim would be on Bowman's back burner, but the coach quelled those concerns at the team meeting.

"(Bowman) told us how ASU might be his last coaching job, so he's in it for the long run," he said. "He made it clear at the meeting that the rumors were false and that he's going to be with us long-term, way past Rio 2016."

At his introductory press conference, Bowman was ecstatic about the Olympians-ASU relationship, calling it "symbiotic" and saying it could work really well for both sides.

"The way I look at it is this: One of the things we want to do is energize what’s going on here, bring a higher level of thinking, higher level of training, higher level of expectation, and there’s no better way to do that than by exposing our athletes to those level of athletes," he said.

Although the aforementioned challenge will exist, there is a great opportunity for ASU swimmers to witness firsthand the determination, hard work and training intensity that goes into being an Olympic athlete. Bowman's background coaching the Olympians is not only unique, but will go a long way in not only giving the swimmers motivation, but showing them what it takes to be that good.

Bowman anticipates ASU to be his last coaching job, which means he will be fully invested in the team's long-term success. Many college athletics programs look to young coaches for a culture change, but bringing in an experienced coach who has mentored winners throughout his career will propel ASU swimming to more future success than anyone could have imagined before the hiring. 

It's time to dive into the Bob Bowman era — a refreshing culture change awaits.

Reach the reporter at Justin.Toscano@asu.edu or follow @justintoscano3 on Twitter.

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