Long-time Indiana high school swimming coach John VanDriessche has been announced as the next head swimming and diving coach at Penn High School.
The move was announced Wednesday by Penn High School Athletic Director Jeff Hart and is pending board approval.
VanDriessche comes to Penn after spending the last 26 seasons at South Bend Riley High School, 24 of which he was the head coach. After becoming the head boys coach in 2000 and adding the girls team for the 2023-24 season he continued the storied history of success at Riley.
During his tenure as head coach for the Wildcats, VanDriessche coached the team to 20 South Bend City Championships, nine IHSAA Sectionals titles, and seven Northern Indiana Conference (NIC) titles. At the state level he led his team to two state runner-up finishes in 2002 and 2003 while also coaching three individuals and two relays to State Titles. His overall dual meet record at Riley was 272-50-1.
As Riley’s head coach, VanDriessche also produced 95 IHSAA Sectional event winners to the nine produced by the other three South Bend schools during that time period.
Recognized by his colleagues for his unique training approach, VanDriessche was a nine-time Sectional Coach of the Year, seven-time NIC of the year, and was named the 2024 IHSSCA Coach of the Year.
“I’m excited to take on this new challenge and opportunity,” VanDriessche said of taking over the Kingsmen program. “Penn High School is one of the premier swimming programs in the state, and I feel grateful to have been selected to lead this team. I look forward to building on their success and plan to make Penn High School the top swimming program in Indiana.”
This will be the third head coaching stop for VanDriessche who was the head coach at Knox High School before going to Riley from 1994-1998. On the club level VanDriessche has a wealth of experience which include stops at the South Bend Swim Club (of which he is the founder), Irish Aquatics, Michiana Marlins, Starke County Blue Dolphins, and the Elkhart Area Swim Team.
VanDriessche takes over the Kingsmen program coming off their most successful season in program history, which saw both teams finish as state runner-up. He replaces Jess Preston who took the head coaching job at Noblesville High School/Swim Club.
“Coach VanDriessche has had an undeniable positive impact on the historic success of the South Bend Riley swim program over the last 20-plus years, and his passion for developing fast, mentally-tough, team-first swimmers at both the high school and club level will be a perfect fit for the Penn athletic family,” Hart said.