By Ben Shanahan

Special to the Sentinel-Tribune

Ball State swimming alumni and 2018 Bob James Award (MAC Student Athlete of the Year) winner Tanner Barton was welcomed by his new team, media, and community members in an introductory press conference at the Stroh Center on Thursday.

For Barton, aspirations six years in the making are coming true as he was named Bowling Green State University’s new head swimming and diving coach.

“Last night I was sitting at my kitchen table and I decided to open up Facebook to rewatch my Bob James Award acceptance speech from June 3, 2018. And when I was watching that speech, I had goosebumps on my arms,” Barton said.

“I was smiling. It really made me take a step back to reflect on where I’ve been to where I am today. In that video, I said it word for word.

“I currently aspire to be a head swim and dive coach within this conference, where I focus on holistic student athlete development and community involvement, helping others on and off the pool. That is where my passion lies.

“And to fast forward six years and to now standing here, that final statement rings true, and it remains at the core of who I am,” continued Barton.

Between his time at Ball State and now at BG, Barton has coached at Cleveland State, Anderson University, and most recently at John Carroll, where he spent four years earning eight total Ohio Athletic Conference championships (four men and four women).

The success all came from his high-energy philosophy,

“High energy, that’s for sure. I like to have fun on the pool deck,” Barton said. “I like to make sure that I am enjoying myself, and when I am relaxed and excited about the meeting, then I know that those individuals who are representing us and are competing on the board and in the water are going to be feeling the same way.”

The job was a popular one, explained BGSU Athletic Director Derek Van Der Merwe, who included over 70 candidates before landing on Tanner.

“We reached out to top club programs around the state and region,” Van Der Merwe said. “We talked to college coaches from across the country.

“We wanted to go deep and far when I say that we had 76 candidates and 25 individuals that we had conversations with before the interview.

“We had Division I sitting head coaches who were cool and wanted this position. We had sitting Division II head coaches, division three head coaches, and top associates from across the country.

“It wasn’t important that we wanted someone that represented the values of Bowling Green, someone that could live up to the ideals, but someone who also reflected what was important to this team,” added Van Der Merwe.

Tanner is a coach who cares about the community, vowing that he will not be stuck in his office but around meeting people on campus and throughout the community.

“I don’t want to live on the pool deck, and I don’t want to live in my office right by the pool deck. I will be walking around campus. I will be attending various athletic and campus events, and I will be interacting with our campus partners across the entire university,” said Barton.