Kerry O'Brien
Head Coach
Kerry, who is an ASCA Certified Level 5 Masters Coach, has been
the head coach of Walnut Creek Masters since 1980. In 1987 he was
named United States Masters Swimming (USMS) Coach of the Year and
in 1992 he was the Pacific Masters Swimming (PMS) Coach of the
Year. Kerry has served as the President of the Masters Aquatic
Coaches Association (MACA) and is currently very active in the USMS
Mentor Coaching Program, giving clinics in Virginia, Idaho,
Washington, Alaska, and in California. In November of 1999 and
February of 2000 Kerry was selected to coach the USMS High Altitude
Training Camp at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado
Springs.
Each Spring, since 1988, Kerry has coordinated and coached the
Walnut Creek Masters Intensive Training Camp. This camp attracts
swimmers of all ability levels and from Masters Teams all over the
country.
Kerry himself is an accomplished Butterflier, swimming the 50, 100,
and 200 flys. He has even been known to swim on his birthday as
many 100’s fly as his age. When he turned 40 he did 40 x 100
fly on 1:30 holding 1:06’s. For this amazing feat he was
mentioned in Swim magazine.
Kerry is not only a great swimmer but an inspiration to the 300+
swimmers on his team. He is always there on the deck or in the
water offering instruction and enthusiasm. Without Kerry the Walnut
Creek Masters would not be what it is today, a successful program
for adults who love to swim for fitness and/or to compete at the
local and national level. (See Records for list of team
accomplishments).
Kerry and his wife both compete in the 45-49 age group and have two
children ,Nathan and Lacey, that compete at the summer recreation
level. The O’Brien’s also have a dog named Abbey that
is quite the dog paddler, and a cat, Porsche, that has yet to
compete at any level!
