Sun Devil's Swim Elevates Coaching Star

The Arizona State Sun Devil men's swim and dive program has a new addition to the coaching staff, and it is one that fans should be excited about. Derek Schmitt is now the new official Associate Head Coach and will be helping Herbie Behm coach the upcoming swim and dive season.

Even though Schmitt has a new position, he is not new to the Sun Devils coaching room. Schmitt has been helping coach swim and dive for ASU for 10 years. For the 2015-16 season, Schmitt served as a graduate assistant, assisting then-Head Coach Bobby Bowman. In this role, he worked a lot with Coach Bowman by helping him plan and organize practices for the swimmers.

After a year, Schmitt was promoted to assistant coach, a role he held until his most recent promotion to Associate Head Coach. Schmitt played a significant role in the success of ASU's Men's Swim and Dive Department.

Schmitt has been especially vital with the development of swimmers in the program. One thing I took away from Schmitt is that his strong suit is developing players. It seems that Schmitt works closely with swimmers and gives them attention and care, so they can be the best athletes that they can be.

Current Head Coach Herbie Behm described Schmitt as being an individual with high energy and someone whom the athletes can connect to. Schmitt was also helped build ASU Swim and Dive into the great team they are now, so he knows how to build up a program.

Schmitt graduated from Eastern Michigan in 2015 with a degree in sports management, so Schmitt has a lot of expertise in the area of managing a team. It also seems like from a personal level that Schmitt has the natural-born traits that make him a great coach.

I have never met Derek Schmitt, but after reading about him, I am very happy that he got the promotion. He seems like a genuine person who brings the sportsmanship aspect to the sport.

It will be intersting to see where Schmitt's future in coaching goes. I do not see Behm getting fired anywhere in the near future, so I wonder if Schmitt could be a head coach at another college.

Whether Schmitt goes, I will be rooting for his sucess and I am very excited to see him coach this year! Please let us know your thoughts on Derek Schmitt and his promotion when you like our Facebook page when you click right here.