SOMERVILLE, New Jersey, August 25. THE Somerset Valley YMCA is pleased to announce the promotion of swim coach Dan Roth to the position of director of competitive aquatics for the Bridgewater Branch and head swim coach for the YMCA’s nationally-ranked swim team.
Roth replaces Matt Donovan, who left to accept the position of director of competitive aquatics and head coach for the YMCA of Broward County in Florida. Roth brings 10 years of competitive coaching experience at the senior, high school, and age group levels to his new role.
He joined the Somerset Valley YMCA swim team in 2011 as associate head age group coach, and was promoted to head age group coach in 2012. In that position, Roth was responsible for the supervision of over 250 athletes aged 14/Under, and also served as an assistant coach to the Somerset Valley YMCA National team. During his time as head age group coach, 15 of his 12-and-under aged swimmers have broken 29 swim team records, and he has guided five of his swimmers to USA Swimming’s National Age Group Top 20 list.
“We conducted a search both externally and internally and immediately realized that the strongest, most qualified candidate was already in-house,” said David Carcieri, CEO. “We know Dan will continue to build on our already strong swim team foundation while instilling Y values and life skills in swimmers.”
Since his affiliation with the Somerset Valley YMCA swim team, the Bridgewater-based team has continued to be a dominant presence in New Jersey and national swimming. This year, the Y team achieved Silver Medal Club status from USA Swimming, establishing its place as one of the top 100 teams in the country.
“This program has been my home for over three years now, and we’ve got something very special here at SVY,” said Roth. “I’m honored to take this new role with the team, and look forward to reaching greater heights and accomplishing even bigger goals in the future.”
Prior to joining the Y, Dan served as the head swim coach for the Hudson Valley Dolphins in Wappinger Falls, N.Y., head varsity boys swim and dive coach for the New Paltz High School in New Paltz, N.Y., and head coach for the Barclay Farm Swim Club in Cherry Hill, N.J. Dan earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Relations and Journalism from the State University of New York-New Paltz where he was a varsity swimmer and two-year team captain. He is an ASCA level 3 certified coach and currently serves as a voting member for both the NJ-USA Swimming Board of Directors as Coach Representative and the NJ-YMCA Swimming’s Board of Directors as Age Group Chairman.
“On behalf of the parents, coaches and swimmers, we are all very excited to have Dan Roth as our new head coach to lead our successful program,” said Barry Coriell, president of the swim team parent board, and a member of the search committee. “We are confident Dan will continue to build on the underlying YMCA values that help our kids develop life skills, as well as improve their competitive swim prowess. We know Dan will push for excellence in all aspects of our program.”
The Somerset Valley YMCA’s swim team has more than 400 members who swim at all levels based on their ability and performance. They practice at the Y’s three pools in Bridgewater, Hillsborough and Somerville. . The nonprofit Y does not believe finances should be a barrier to youth development and offers financial assistance to those who qualify.
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