Former swimmer and UTPB graduate Cameron Kainer will be returning to Odessa this fall after being named head coach of the men's and women's swimming programs, athletics director Steve Aicinena announced. Kainer takes over for previous coach Rob Rankin who accepted a similar position earlier this month at Permian High School.
"We are excited about Cameron's addition to the coaching staff," said Aicinena. "Being an alum of our university and a four-year member of our swim team, he is familiar with the university, community, and challenges associated with coaching at UTPB. A big plus are the variety of experiences and the knowledge he gained while working as an assistant swim coach at Florida Institute of Technology and St. Lawrence University. Cameron is personable, articulate, and hard working. These attributes will assist him in the recruiting process which is key to creating a quality team."
Cameron swam with UTPB for four seasons, competing in the 500 freestyle, 1,000 freestyle, 1,650 freestyle and 400 individual medley. He was a two-year captain, president of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee, and graduated in 2010 with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and a Political Science minor.
"I'm really excited to be coaching at my alma mater," Kainer said. "It's going to be an exciting season. I'm looking forward to coaching the swimmers that are here and bringing in new recruits that are excited like I am about the program. It's great being back in orange and black. The alumni support has been nothing but amazing and we have a great alumni group and I hope to continue their involvement in getting student-athletes excited about UTPB. They share the passion and values of tradition that the UTPB swimming program has been based upon.
"I'd like to give a big thank you to Rob Rankin, for his dedication to the UTPB swimming program over the past 10 years. I would also like to thank Bob Clemmer, Jeni Ritter and most recently Tim O'Brien and Mike Koleber for all of the opportunities they've given me in coaching. Lastly, I would like to thank St. Lawrence University and Florida Institute of Technology for giving me opportunities to be an assistant coach at their institutions in my career."
Kainer spent this past year as an assistant coach with the men's and women's swim teams at Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Fla., helping two swimmers reach four total NCAA B-qualifying times, three student-athletes of the week, one national swimmer of the week and 26 total records set by the teams.
He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y. In his two years at SLU, the Saints broke 11 combined records, had a pair of Liberty League individual champions and finished a women's program-best 7-2 in dual meets.
He spent this past summer as a counselor at the Longhorn Swim Camp hosted by the University of Texas, coaching alongside the Texas coaching staff, including Eddie Reese, Kris Kubik, Carol Capitani and Roric Fink as well as U.S. Olympic gold medalists Brendan Hansen and Ian Crocker. After serving as a counselor at the Longhorn Swim Camp, he served as the National Development coach for Nitro Swimming Cedar Park, under Mike Koleber, Tim O'Brien and Robert Hastings.
