AUBURN, Alabama. October 19. AUBURN Assistant coach, Ralph Crocker was diagnosed with cancer Monday. Tests are still being done to see where exactly the cancer has spread. A C.T. Scan was done this morning and he is still waiting on the pathology.
“I knew something was wrong,” said Crocker. “So I went and had it checked out. I’m fifty-one years old, I am at that age. Now I’m ready to take care of it and move on.”
Once again, in a year that seems to have more tragedies than usual, the swimming community has rallied around another one of its brethren.
“I’ve been able to get more information in 36 hours than most people can get in six weeks, and it is all because of the people I know from the swimming community pulling strings,” reports Crocker.
Ralph Crocker has been an assistant coach at Auburn since 1999, and primarily heads up the distance group. Distance swimmers at Auburn fondly call Ralph’s group, RHOP, which stand for Ralph’s House of Pain. He has played a key role in Auburn’s Seven National Championships since his arrival at Auburn.
Despite the news, Crocker has remained upbeat and optimistic, “I’m going to do whatever I can to celebrate my 30th Anniversary with my wife and see my daughter, Cameron, graduate from Auburn.”