Head coach Gene Damm enters his fifteenth season with the men's swimming program at Mount Saint Mary College. Damm, who is also in his eleventh year as the Aquatics Director at the Mount, has amassed a career coaching record of 67-78 with the Knights.
Last season, the Knights posted a record of 10-4 overall, marking the team's fourth-consecutive winning season. During a third-place finish at the Skyline Championships, senior Brian Heitman was named the Co-Swimmer of the Year with a pair of individual titles at the meet.
Following up on a record-setting 11-1 campaign in 2008-09, Damm guided the Knights to a record of 9-3 in 2009-10. All together, Mount Saint Mary has racked up four consecutive winning seasons and owns a four-year mark of 38-12.
Damm was named the Skyline Conference Coach of the Year in 2008-09.
In nearly 35 years of coaching, Damm has worked with a number of teams in the Hudson Valley inclduing teams from West Point, Vassar College, and St. Mary's. He has developed several national caliber swimmers, competing at the United States Open, Junior, and Senior levels. Damm is one of only a few dozen coaches nationwide to hold a Level 5 ranking from the American Swim Coaches Association for senior and age-group swimmers.
Coach Damm earned a B.S. in textile chemistry from the University of Massachusetts in 1956 and an M.A. in organic chemistry from Dartmouth College in 1958.
Damm is originally from New Bedford, Mass., and currently lives in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., with his wife, Mary. They have three children, seven grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. The Damms co-authored Guide for Competitive Swimmers in January of 2000.
