Brian “Chuckie” Roth has been selected as head coach of the SBCC women’s swim team, which will make its debut in the spring of 2014.
“I’ve been coaching swimming for 14 years and this is a great opportunity,” said Roth. “When I was contacted about the job, I felt like this is one of my true callings. I believe in the community college system and SBCC is a great school.”
Roth, a former swimmer at Temple City High, Citrus College and UCSB, will continue coaching girls swimming and water polo at San Marcos High, which he’s been doing since 2004.
He’s also the Department Chair for Physical Education at San Marcos. Last year, he was voted Teacher of the Year for his school and received the Distinguished Educator of the Year for Santa Barbara County.
“Chuckie is a pretty phenomenal person and we’re so fortunate to have someone of his caliber in our own backyard,” said SBCC Athletic Director Ryan Byrne. “It’s pretty unique when you ask about a person and everyone you talk to says, ‘This person is amazing.’
“His references are glowing and he is of the highest caliber as a coach. As a former Educator of the Year for the entire district, he really gets the total package of what student-athletes are supposed to strive for. He’s an excellent fit for where we are going.”
An organizational meeting will be held for SBCC women’s swimming on Thursday, May 16 from 7-8 p.m. in the Sports Pavilion. It’s a chance for student-athletes and their families to learn about the swim program and also gauge the interest for women’s water polo.
“We’ve gotten a lot of responses so far and the organizational meeting will give us a chance to let any interested students know about the program,” said Byrne. “Part of the purpose for the meeting is to rally around and celebrate additional opportunities for young women in such a strong aquatics community.”
The new Vaquero team will practice at San Marcos High. SBCC will compete in the Western State Conference, which currently has eight women’s swimming programs, including Ventura and Cuesta. With the addition of SBCC and Hancock, there will 10 women’s swim teams in 2014.
SBCC recently won the Aspen Award as the nation’s No. 1 community college. Vaquero student-athletes are twice as likely s non student-athletes to be transfer-ready after two years. Nearly 33 percent of all student-athletes are on the Honor Roll with a GPA of 3.0 or higher.
Roth graduated from UCSB in 1997 with a BA in History and a minor in Exercise Health Science. In 2004, he received his Master’s Degree from Azusa Pacific in Physical Education.
In his eight years at San Marcos, Roth has transformed the swim and water polo teams.
“We went from a swim team that was consistently fifth in Channel League and now, we have an opportunity in the next couple of years to win the league,” he stated. “We had no CIF qualifiers the first three years and this year, we’ve qualified in four events and three relays in Division 1, the most competitive division.
“When I took over San Marcos water polo, they had won two games the previous year. We’ve had four 20-win seasons now and were ranked No. 7 in the CIF Div. 1. We’ve had one All-American and we were second in Channel League, our best showing in 13 or 14 years.”
Roth was an assistant coach for UCSB water polo from 1997-2000. He was hired at his alma mater, Temple City High, to start a girls’ water polo team and coach the swimmers. In just a few years, he produced seven All-CIF water polo players and his teams won CIF titles in 2003 and ‘04.
“Chuckie Roth is an exceptional choice to lead the program at SBCC,” said Gregg Wilson, who‘s in his 37th season as UCSB‘s swimming and diving coach. “He is familiar with the community college structure, function and programming, and he is recognized in our community and in all of Southern California as an excellent coach, educator and colleague.
“He is held is the highest regard by everyone as a man of integrity and great character. I will not hesitate to send swimmers his way and they will benefit greatly from his coaching and instruction.”
Byrne is excited about Roth and the women’s swim program.
“By adding women’s swimming, it’s going to take us a step closer to being the best transfer institution in the country for intercollegiate athletics,” said Byrne.
“There’s a trend in this region for increasing competition in women’s aquatics and there’s definitely more than sufficient interest and ability in Santa Barbara County to offer that sport.
“Our goals are always academic first. We want to lay the groundwork for student-athletes to be the best they can be and to transfer to four-year institutions.”
