OSD’s Robert Gonzalez Wins MAC Swim Coach of Year

Oxford School District’s swim coach Robert Gonzalez was named Mississippi Association of Coaches (MAC) Swim Coach of the Year. His nomination will move on to compete with 8 other southeastern states where the winner will go on to the national MAC conference.

Gonzalez, a science teacher at Oxford Intermediate School, is in his fifth year of coaching Oxford’s swim team. Gonzalez is an Accredited Interscholastic Coach (AIC) and a Certified Interscholastic Coach (CIC). Gonzalez has worked in the sport of swimming since age 4 and was a junior national qualifier.

Courtesy of Oxford School District.

After high school, he attended Mississippi State University and coached Starkville High School and their club swim team. Following graduation in 2012, he took his first teaching job at Tunica Middle School and coached the inaugural swim program at Rosa Fort High School.

Gonzalez led the 2017 and 2018 OHS swim team to third in the MHSAA state championships, whereas they were unranked in previous years. Last year, the boys finished with an overall record of 40-4 and the girls finished 42-2.

“Our program is proud and honored to receive this award because that is exactly what it is: a collective effort. I personally am proud that the voters recognized our team’s improvement moving into where we are today. No program in our state has seen the climb upward more than we have the past five years. We are moving in the right direction and we have a lot of untapped potential I hope to see discovered,” Gonzalez said.

The Mississippi Association of Coaches is a membership organization serving the needs of athletic coaches throughout the state of Mississippi. MAC represents a variety of coaching specialties including football, basketball, baseball, soccer, softball, volleyball, cheer, archery, dance, swimming, bowling, golf, track, cross country, powerlifting and tennis.

Courtesy of the Oxford School District