Taking command of what could be considered a slumbering giant, Kyle Kimball has been hired as men’s and women’s swimming coach at Linfield College, director of athletics Scott Carnahan announced Wednesday.
A results-oriented coach with 17 years experience at the club, high school, collegiate and international levels, Kimball assumes leadership of the Linfield swimming program from Gary Gutierrez, who stepped down after 16 seasons.
“Kyle brings a dynamic personality and will be a real asset to our swimming program,” said Carnahan. “He has a great network of contacts within Oregon’s club swimming programs as well as the high schools. The teams he has coached have enjoyed great success.”
Kimball most recently led the BearCat Swim Club in Salem and taught physical education in the David Douglas School District. He spent nine years in charge of the McMinnville Swim Club and also spent time leading the Visalia (Calif.) Swim Team and the Salem Aquatic Club. He gained exposure to NCAA Division III and the Northwest Conference while serving short assistantships at Linfield and Willamette University.
He spent one year abroad, coaching the Sligo Swim Club in Sligo, Ireland, where he turned around an underperforming team into a contender.
“I’m extremely excited to be able to coach and lead a college program in a town and state that I love. Coming back to McMinnville and Linfield College is a dream come true and an opportunity I’ve been waiting a long time for.”
Kimball inherits a program that competes in a modern facility and on an attractive campus, but that had seen a dropoff in results in recent seasons.
“Kyle’s goals coming into the position are to get our numbers up and elevate the caliber of student-athlete we are attracting,” said Carnahan. “He has a demonstrated ability to coach and has great enthusiasm that will carry over to the kids. I fully expect Kyle will be able to turn our program around quickly.”
“I believe within 2-3 years Linfield can be shooting for conference titles,” Kimball said. “The rebuilding process is going to involve a lot of hard work in recruiting, but it’s going to be a fun process that I’m looking forward to.”
At last season’s Northwest Conference Championships, Linfield’s women placed seventh while the men were eighth.
“My long-range plan is to develop Linfield to be nationally competitive, both individually and as a team. It may take 5-8 years to get there, but I’m 100 percent positive that we can achieve the goals of winning national championships using my coaching technique and style.”
Kimball will also teach courses with the Health and Human Performance and Athletics department.
Kimball was a four-year swimming letterman at the University of Washington, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1994. He was twice honored as Washington’s men’s most valuable swimmer in 1992 and 1993 and qualified for the Pacific-10 Conference all-academic team each of his four seasons in Seattle. Kimball went on to earn a master’s degree in education from the University of Arizona.
Kyle and his wife, Caitlin, are expecting their first child in August.
This is an unedited press release courtesy of Linfield College Athletics.