KING National Team Coach Hannan Going Back to School; Promote Djang

Tommy Hannan, the head coach of the KING Aquatic Club (KING) in Seattle, has resigned his post to return to school full-time, and according to club owner Sean Hutchison “to pursue his life outside of full-time coaching.”

“Tommy has done an incredible job over the last four years as the KING National team coach,” Hutchison said in a statement. “Personally, I have mixed emotions. Tommy is a friend who I have worked with in a variety of capacities for almost twenty years. He was my first USA National team member and first Olympian. We’ve been through a lot together. The mixed emotions come, on one hand, through losing, in a full time capacity, one of the best coaches I’ve seen, to, on the other hand, being an advocate and fan of his dreams to pursue what his life is intended to become. In the end, the person always has to come first. He deserves my, and your, support and admiration.”

As mentioned, Hannan is a former National Team swimmer and protegé of Hutchison’s, and has been largely responsible for leading an impressive run of National Age Group Records over the past few years at the helm of the National Team group.

As a result, KING has promoted their top age group coach Doug Djang to lead the National Team group at the King County Aquatic Center, and additionally added a second National group at their KING North program, led by Ash Milad. The two will be co-head coaches of the overall program.

Hutchison, who is no longer a frequent on-deck coach for KING, has visions on things he hopes to improve with the club in the coming years to continue its push as a national level club.

• Get the entire team to be even more excited about KING. Make it feel special to put on the KING cap.

• Get the coaching staff to be more collective and engaged. The KING family will never be a family if the coaching staff isn’t a family. Simple truth.

• More uniformity within the KING program of training and teaching. The Physical Genius program bit into this one pretty strongly a year ago. We need to push curriculum and performance standards even deeper into the team.

Hutchison points out in his letter, available in full to read here, that neither himself or Hannan had experience with a national level group in response to what appears to be some concern over the experience of Milad and Djang at this level of responsibility.

“These guys, Ash and Doug, are the real thing,” Hutchison says. “The sooner you buy in, the sooner you’ll see the results – because the results will come.”

In the 2012-2013 season alone, KING broke National Age group Records in the 15-16 boys’ 200 meter medley and 400 free relays, the girls’ 17-18 200 meter medley relay, the 15-18 boys’ 200 meter medley relay (the same as the 15-16 records: really impressive), and the girls’ 15-18 400 yard medley relay. Two members of those relays, 15-year old Koppi Kolyvek, coached by Milad, and 15- year old Josh Maclurg, coached by Ken Spencer, while the rest where products of Hannan.

Individually, Thomas Anderson broke the 13-14 NAG Record in the 100 yard backstroke in 48.73, while swimming for Ken Spencer.

Djang is another former Hutchison swimmer coached who still holds the team record in the 100 yard breast in 55.44. He worked with Mathias Oh and Anderson, both NAG Record holders, before they moved on to the senior groups.