Glenbrook Aquatics coach joins Illinois State staff
Sean Sullivan, a 2011 Glenbrook North graduate and Glenbrook Swim Club assistant senior coach, has been named an assistant coach for the Illinois State swimming and diving program for the 2020-21 season.
Joining head coach Caitlin Hamilton and dive coach Logan Pearsall on the Redbirds' staff, Sullivan has spent most of his professional career with Glenbrook Aquatics. He has also been an assistant strength and conditioning coach at New Trier, working with athletes from 11 sports, including swimming.
He's psyched about this college position.
"I'm really excited for it," said Sullivan, who will work with all women's swimmers but primarily with sprinters from 200 yards on down. Illinois State does not have a men's program.
"I had quite a few different conversations with Caitlin Hamilton going through the hiring process, and had a few with Logan Pearsall as well, our diving coach. It became really apparent that both of them are really driven and want the team to get better," Sullivan said.
"He's already hit the ground running and is a great addition to the on-deck atmosphere," Hamilton stated in a news release.
Over two years as an assistant with the Glenbrook Swim Club in Northbrook, he worked closely with Olympic Trials qualifier Max Iida, a state champion at Glenbrook South and a Virginia commit.
Under club head coach Steve Iida, Max's father, Sullivan helped develop other Trials qualifiers such as current Arizona senior Sam Iida and Glenbrook North graduate Ryan Purdy, a redshirt sophomore at Iowa who will transfer to Arizona; and other top-caliber swimmers such as Prospect's Maggie Papanicholas.
Steve Iida said he had mixed emotions on Sullivan's new job.
"On one hand, I'm extremely excited that Sean was hired at ISU. Sean's goal has always been to become a collegiate coach. Knowing this all along, I hope that I was able to help him become more equipped for his long collegiate coaching career.
"On the other hand, selfishly, I'm very sad. He'll leave a huge hole on Glenbrook Swim Club's coaching staff," Iida said.
Sullivan said Iida's guidance and philosophy were a "big influence" in preparation for the Illinois State coaching position.
After swimming for Glenbrook South and Glenbrook Aquatics, Sullivan attended Occidental College in Los Angeles. He was a 2016 graduate of Occidental, a former school record-holder for the Tigers and an all-conference swimmer in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. He served as a volunteer assistant coach at Occidental and also as an assistant at Flintridge Preparatory School in California.
The Redbirds' first scheduled competition, the UIC Diving Invitational in Chicago on Jan. 30, has been postponed. On Feb. 13 the Redbirds host Valparaiso in Normal.
"I'm just really grateful to be on board and excited for where things are going," Sullivan said.
"Obviously we're facing some different and new challenges based on what everyone's going through with the pandemic, but I think right now we've got the mindset where we're ready to roll with whatever comes our way."