A Letter to the Pitt Swimming and Diving Senior Class - Thank You
4/5/2020 2:00:00 PM | Swimming & Diving
A Letter from Head Coach John Hargis
Each year at our season-ending team banquet, what I look forward to the most is spending one more afternoon with the graduating senior class.
It's always a special moment to see the seniors dressed up for the banquet with their families and loved ones, sharing one final day with the entire team before they graduate and move on.
Unfortunately, due to the ongoing pandemic, we won't have a team banquet this year.
But I still wanted to share some thoughts about this incredible senior class, although it's difficult to fully put into words what this group of seniors has meant to the Pitt swimming and diving program, as well as to me personally.
My annual speech to the seniors at the end-of-year banquet is always an emotional, reflective time for me as the head coach. That's because the footprints are still wet.
Day after day, week after week, over the course of four years, these student-athletes dedicate their lives to this program and this University. At countless practices and meets, they stepped in the concrete and left their mark on Pitt swimming and diving.
And let me tell you, the footprints of this senior class of 2020 are, in a word, huge.
From our very first team meeting four years ago, they embraced me as the new head coach, as well as our entire coaching staff. They believed in and shared the goals that we set for this program.
Every senior class is different. This group was recruited by separate coaches. Four years ago, they had a decision to make. They could have looked to go somewhere else. They could have quit. When there is a change in the coaching staff, there's obviously a change in the philosophy at the same time.
But they committed to Pitt, and they were determined to leave this program better than they found it.
For that, I am forever thankful to them. And I know that they accomplished that goal.
Through the partnership between our coaching staff and these student-athletes, we made great strides in building a foundation for this program and making history – over and over again.
This senior class showed what can be achieved by a dedicated group of student-athletes at a place like the University of Pittsburgh, which is so full of opportunity.
From presenting ground-breaking cancer research at national conferences to winning domestic national championships and competing at esteemed international meets to earning a bachelor's degrees from a world-class institution to literally re-writing the Pitt swimming and diving record book to accepting prestigious internships, this senior class has left an incredible legacy on this program.
Immediately, they embraced what Pitt can provide to a student-athlete from an academic perspective. I've never had a class accomplish so much from the academic and extracurricular standpoint.
Thirteen of these student-athletes are on pace to graduate with a grade-point average of 3.0 or better, with seven on track to earn a degree from the University of Pittsburgh with a GPA higher than 3.5.
That's truly remarkable, and I congratulate them on their outstanding level of academic achievement.
On a personal level, I have learned so much from these seniors. They have taught me more than they could ever understand, especially about what it means to be a student-athlete today.
Through them, I learned so much about all that Pitt has to offer to its students. The shared experiences and accomplishments of this senior class exposed me to everything that makes the University of Pittsburgh such a special place more than any book or campus tour ever could. My first four seasons as the head coach at Pitt coincided with their four years of college here, and I'm so much better for it.
That's what I'll remember the most about this group.
After two decades of coaching, I believe that you're either getting better or you're getting worse as a program. And thanks to these seniors, we've consistently improved each of the last four years.
They helped to create a culture of excellence – both in the pool, in the class room, on campus and in Pittsburgh community – that we know the younger members of our team will build upon.
This senior class is full of extremely well-rounded individuals who are amazing people that are ready to accomplish even greater things as leaders in the world, both professionally and personally.
They have made me a better coach and a better man.
I feel so proud and blessed to have coached them.
2020 Pitt Swimming and Diving Seniors – Thank You!
John Hargis
Head Coach, University of Pittsburgh
#H2P | #H2oP | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Each year at our season-ending team banquet, what I look forward to the most is spending one more afternoon with the graduating senior class.
It's always a special moment to see the seniors dressed up for the banquet with their families and loved ones, sharing one final day with the entire team before they graduate and move on.
Unfortunately, due to the ongoing pandemic, we won't have a team banquet this year.
But I still wanted to share some thoughts about this incredible senior class, although it's difficult to fully put into words what this group of seniors has meant to the Pitt swimming and diving program, as well as to me personally.
My annual speech to the seniors at the end-of-year banquet is always an emotional, reflective time for me as the head coach. That's because the footprints are still wet.
Day after day, week after week, over the course of four years, these student-athletes dedicate their lives to this program and this University. At countless practices and meets, they stepped in the concrete and left their mark on Pitt swimming and diving.
And let me tell you, the footprints of this senior class of 2020 are, in a word, huge.
From our very first team meeting four years ago, they embraced me as the new head coach, as well as our entire coaching staff. They believed in and shared the goals that we set for this program.
Every senior class is different. This group was recruited by separate coaches. Four years ago, they had a decision to make. They could have looked to go somewhere else. They could have quit. When there is a change in the coaching staff, there's obviously a change in the philosophy at the same time.
But they committed to Pitt, and they were determined to leave this program better than they found it.
For that, I am forever thankful to them. And I know that they accomplished that goal.
Through the partnership between our coaching staff and these student-athletes, we made great strides in building a foundation for this program and making history – over and over again.
This senior class showed what can be achieved by a dedicated group of student-athletes at a place like the University of Pittsburgh, which is so full of opportunity.
From presenting ground-breaking cancer research at national conferences to winning domestic national championships and competing at esteemed international meets to earning a bachelor's degrees from a world-class institution to literally re-writing the Pitt swimming and diving record book to accepting prestigious internships, this senior class has left an incredible legacy on this program.
Immediately, they embraced what Pitt can provide to a student-athlete from an academic perspective. I've never had a class accomplish so much from the academic and extracurricular standpoint.
Thirteen of these student-athletes are on pace to graduate with a grade-point average of 3.0 or better, with seven on track to earn a degree from the University of Pittsburgh with a GPA higher than 3.5.
That's truly remarkable, and I congratulate them on their outstanding level of academic achievement.
On a personal level, I have learned so much from these seniors. They have taught me more than they could ever understand, especially about what it means to be a student-athlete today.
Through them, I learned so much about all that Pitt has to offer to its students. The shared experiences and accomplishments of this senior class exposed me to everything that makes the University of Pittsburgh such a special place more than any book or campus tour ever could. My first four seasons as the head coach at Pitt coincided with their four years of college here, and I'm so much better for it.
That's what I'll remember the most about this group.
After two decades of coaching, I believe that you're either getting better or you're getting worse as a program. And thanks to these seniors, we've consistently improved each of the last four years.
They helped to create a culture of excellence – both in the pool, in the class room, on campus and in Pittsburgh community – that we know the younger members of our team will build upon.
This senior class is full of extremely well-rounded individuals who are amazing people that are ready to accomplish even greater things as leaders in the world, both professionally and personally.
They have made me a better coach and a better man.
I feel so proud and blessed to have coached them.
2020 Pitt Swimming and Diving Seniors – Thank You!
John Hargis
Head Coach, University of Pittsburgh
#H2P | #H2oP | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
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