Eric Stefanski was introduced by head coach Courtney Shealy Hart as an assistant coach in June of 2013. He comes to the Flats after six years in the same capacity at the University of North Carolina and will be the Yellow Jackets[apos] primary sprint coach.
[quote]Eric[apos]s resume speaks for itself,[quote] said Hart. [quote]He has been in the ACC the last six years and done a tremendous job with the sprint program at UNC. He knows what it takes to balance academics and athletics at a high level in our conference. I[apos]m confident that with Eric[apos]s leadership, we will return our sprint program to a powerhouse in the ACC.[quote]
In his six years in Chapel Hill, Stefanski coached a sprint group that totaled 21 NCAA Championship appearances, received 14 All-America honors, set nearly 25 school records and won multiple Atlantic Coast Conference individual titles. Former Tar Heel Steve Cebertowicz flourished under Stefanski[apos]s guidance, finishing the 2012 season as an NCAA finalist in the 50 and 100 free, and setting national top 10 times in both events. He was the ACC champion in the 100 free in 2011. Backstroker Tommy Wyher was also one of Stefanski[apos]s prodigies, as the four-time All-American won four straight ACC titles in the 100 back between 2008 and 2011.
Stefanski began his coaching career at the high school and club levels, immediately after receiving his B.S. degree in psychology from the University of Pittsburgh in 1998, where he was an accomplished collegiate swimmer. He went on to earn his M.S. degree in kinesiology with an emphasis in sports psychology from Georgia Southern University in 2002.
Stefanski is a former head coach at the University of Rochester, where he was conference coach of the year in 2003, and assistant coach at his alma mater, Pittsburgh. He has been active with Team USA as a manager since 2010, having worked the 2010 Pan Pacific Championships (Irvine, Calif.), World University Games (Shenzhen, China) and this summer[apos]s World Championships in Barcelona, Spain.