Weston Named New Swimming Coach
Raymond (RC) Weston has been named the new swimming coach at Alfred State. Weston joins the athletic department staff from Binghamton University.
Weston is excited about the opportunity at Alfred State. "From the moment I stepped on campus I could feel the family-like atmosphere that will surround the swimming and diving program. To have the full support from the athletic department to grow and develop a successful program during the transition into NCAA DIII is something that I have been looking forward to during my entire coaching career. It's a common concern in the swimming world to know whether or not colleges will cut swimming and diving programs or other Olympic sports; that is clearly not the case here at Alfred State. The focus on building allows me to place more of my time on what matters; the athletes."
Athletic Director Dr. Kelly Higgins is excited to add Weston to the coaching staff. "RC brings a strong background as a competitor, along with successful coaching experience at the high school, DIII and DI levels, including a stint as interim head coach at SUNY Binghamton. He knows swimming in NY, has a plan for success for the Pioneers, along with the desire and work ethic we were looking for when it was decided to move forward with the full time position for the program, and he has me looking forward to working with him to rebuild a successful swimming and diving program again here at Alfred State."
Weston joined the coaching staff at Binghamton last October. He directly supervised the distance training group and assisted with the mid-distance/stroke group.
Prior to Binghamton, Weston was the head coach and aquatics director at Milligan College. At Milligan he was named the 2013 American Swimming Coaches Association Coach of Excellence for his team's performance at the NAIA Nationals. His team set 31 new school records during his tenure.
Weston served as a personal trainer at Spunk Fitness (2011-12), the conditioning coach at Nazareth (2010-11), co-head coach of the Nazareth College Masters Swimming program (2010-11), and boys and girls varsity swimming assistant coach at Midlakes High School (2010-11).
Collegiately at Nazareth, Weston broke four school records and won the USMS 2-mile Open Water National Championships in 2009. He also was a three-year member of the Nazareth golf team.
While at Nazareth, Weston earned a bachelor's degree in business administration with a minor in psychology.
"My main objective as a coach is to make sure that the student-athletes are successful in three aspects of their college career. I want to make sure that they are sound students and place an emphasis on academic success. Next, I want to make sure they are constantly improving in the pool and reaching their athletic goals. Finally, I want to ensure that each student-athlete is growing as a person and can enjoy what they do. Practice time should be enjoyable and place an emphasis on improving as a team. Small accomplishments by individuals each day can add up to the entire team achieving a major goal at the end of the year for the program."
Weston looks to build a quality team quickly. "I want to find Student-Athletes who are goal oriented, coachable, and excited about the opportunity to have an immediate, lasting impact at Alfred State. I want to place Alfred State back on the map and find a conference that we can compete in. The program was very successful in the 70's, it's time to get back to being a winning program. The beautiful thing about this transition is that we have options, it's just a matter of finding a home and competing from day one."
Weston will begin his duties immediately. The Pioneers open their season on October 18th at the Pitt-Bradford Relays.
