Upper St. Clair swim coach recognized
The Pennsylvania High School Swim Coaches’ Association (PHSSCA) named David Schraven Class AAA boys’ coach of the year for the 2013-24 season. Schraven coached the Upper St. Clair varsity swim team to a runner-up showing in the WPIAL and a third-place finish in the PIAA.
“Pennsylvania is one of the top three high school swimming states in the country, so to receive this award at the state level is a true honor,” said Schraven. “The award is a reflection of a lot of hard work put in by our entire coaching staff, not to mention our student-athletes, whose dedication, commitment, and superior accomplishments are ultimately the reason why I was named coach of the year.”
The award is based upon a combination of the athlete performance of his swimmers and voting by peer coaches throughout Pennsylvania. Distinction is given to four categories: Boys AAA, Boys AA, Girls AAA, Girls AA.
“Our swim program is one of the top programs in the country because of the great athletes it produces,” said USC athletic director Matt Mellinger. “Coach Schraven plays a huge role in that because he keeps the team focused on both their individual and team goals. He has done an outstanding job developing our student-athletes, which is demonstrated by the tremendous success our swim program has had since he started here two years ago.”
In addition to the school district, the swim club, which Schraven also serves as head coach, is equally pleased with the accomplishment. According to the club, the distinction reflects positively on Schraven’s leadership and ability as well as the successes of the student-athletes under his tutelage.
“All of us who have been actively involved in building the swimming program in Upper St. Clair over the past 10 years are truly excited and proud of what this means for our school district, for Dave and his assistant coaching staff, for the student-athletes and for our community,” said USC Swim Club president Douglas Shaffer.
Under Schraven, the USC Swim Club completed its most successful season. Achievements included: second at the Mark J. Braun Invitational in Cleveland, second at the Team Pitt Meet, second at the AMS Age Group Championship, third at the Speedo Champions Series Meet in Buffalo and first at the IMX Meet at Moon.
The main metric used to measure the performance of the club is the USA Swimming “Virtual Club Championship.” This year, USC ranked 266 nationally and second in AMS, an improvement from 417 nationally and fourth in AMS from 2013.