Last year, Roch fell into our laps from the sky...seriously, we were six weeks into the swim season with no coach and weren't sure if we were even going to have a meet to swim in to qualify for sectionals. Then HE appeared...the coach to end all coaches. Okay, that might be a bit of an exaggeration because we do have Chris P and Ian over at CSC and believe me, THEY, too, are the coaches to end all coaches...as are the rest of the coaches at CSC. Roch fits right in with the best...we could never pay this man what he is worth in the coaching world. He always goes above and beyond anything required. He crunches numbers, he reads everything known to man on the subject of swimming and times and events and swimmers, etc. He has coached all levels, including college. He is absolute gold. So, when we heard that he would be doing a bit of traveling for his job during the high school swim season, and probably would not be able to coach Matt this year, we were very sad. How on earth could we come up with anyone like Roch? Then, he took a step back, we took a step back, and both kinda said at the same time...."Well, maybe we could....." and somehow, with all the crazy schedules, crazy practice times, crazy communications, and the help of Mary Lynn Voigt who would volunteer to be the Assistant Coach and cover what could not be covered when Roch was on business...somehow with all that...we had our Head Coach back for this year. He coached from Indiana, he coached from Alabama, he coached from (believe it or not) Thailand via Skype, and all points in between, texting us during sectionals from airports in Texas and Florida. I'm not really sure all the places he was when we would get emails, text messages, Skype calls, phone calls, etc. I just know he made it all happen. Everything was documented, turned in on time, filed, dated, and delivered. And, while he was not able to make sectionals (since he was in Thailand), he did make it back for all the state events. We chuckled the whole season: One Swimmer, Two Coaches, International coaching...it was quite a ride. We are ever so grateful. Roch has a way of inspiring the whole person in Matt as a swimmer. It was Roch who suggested having "Totus Tuus" on the state shirt...Guerin's motto this year taken from Pope John Paul II's Apostolic motto of the same. It means "Totally yours" in Christ through the Trinity and With Mary. That's the kind of coaching Roch is able to pull off and the kind of inspiration that can convince a sophomore that he CAN get to state in both events, he CAN place in the top 16 in both events, and he CAN do it again next year. And Roch is all about giving proper credit where proper credit is due: Totus Tuus. For a truly wonderful year, we have ALL Matt's coaches, Guerin and CSC, to thank...and for making a high school swim season possible at Guerin, we have Roch to thank, for without him, it never would have happened. We are incredibly lucky...or as Roch would say, "Rich in Providence." Rich indeed. Before we lay to rest the 2009 boys high school swim season, I have one more post that I wanted to do about it all. It's about our Head Coach, of course. While those who see us often, know how much we think of Roch...I have had to remain a little quiet here in blogland throughout the season.