Greg Meehan's swimming career has come a long way since sophomore year at Rider University. That's when he almost quit.

"It certainly got to that point,'' he said the recently over the phone from California. "I was frustrated with how I was doing. I don't think I had the maturity to process that in a way I did a little bit later.

"I'm really grateful I stuck with it,'' he said, adding a laugh. "I had a great last couple of years at Rider. It was awesome. It was a wonderful experience and I swam fast and enjoyed that team camaraderie. If I had quit after sophomore year I don't think I'd be doing what I'm doing now. And that would be a shame.''



Since leaving the university in Lawrence in 1998 - with a degree in mathematics and secondary education - Meehan's coaching career has essentially reached its zenith.

Last spring as head coach of the Stanford University women's swimming team he led them to the NCAA national championship. This past December he was named head coach of the 2020 U.S. Olympic team.

(For swimming and Olympic fans out there, he's coached medalists Katie Ledecky, Lia Neal, Simone Manuel and Maya DiRado collegiately.)

Greg Meehan during a Stanford women's swim victory at Avery Aquatic Center at Stanford in this 2017 file photo. (John Todd photo)

"I knew I was a candidate, but you never expect that will actually come true,'' said the 42-year-old. "It really was a surprise, so that moment was pretty neat.''

He's had more than a few neat moments in his career.

Last year's national championship was Stanford's second straight. In seven seasons in Palo Alto, Meehan has three times been NCAA Swimming Coach of the Year. Four times he's been Pac-12 Coach of the Year. He has coached swimmers to a combined 232 All-America honors and 23 individual national champions. Under Meehan, Stanford has also won three Pac-12 championships, twice finished runner-up in the NCAA championships and once third.

Meehan, who grew up in Broomall, Pennsylvania, a Philadelphia suburb, has been on the west coast since taking a job as an assistant at UCLA in 2001. In 2005 he was named head coach for both the men's and women's teams at the University of the Pacific, and three years later joined the Cal-Berkeley staff as an assistant. He was eventually promoted to associate head coach.

"I wanted to be a high school teacher and swim coach. That was sort of my big dream,'' he said. "I had done some summer club coaching and I got a little bit of the coaching bug.''

After graduating from Rider in 1998 he dove right into the business as he was hired as an assistant coach at William & Mary. One year later he returned north for two years at Princeton. When he discovered an ad for the position in California, he headed west.

"Princeton sort of put me on the path that I eventually got to here,'' Meehan said. "It was a significant jump in the level of swimming I had coached prior to that. So I jumped at the opportunity to get out there.''

The youngest of five children, most of his family remain in the Delaware County area, and Meehan remains a big Philly sports fan, not succumbing to the dark side of L.A. or San Francisco sports teams.

"My wife and I went to the Super Bowl last year and that was definitely one of the highlights of my life. It was pretty cool,'' he said about the Eagles win. "I raised my kids as Philly sports fans. They really didn't have a choice. So we're still connected to the area.''

As for swimming, as for the Stanford program, "It doesn't really get any better. It's probably the premier job in the country,'' he said. "It's a great institution, the area loves swimming and supports the sport, and I have the opportunity to work with athletes who have things like the Olympics as a goal."



And they have the opportunity to work with one of the best coaches in the country.



"Greg is very hard working and compassionate,'' said Tracy Slusser, associate head coach for women's swimming at Stanford. "Those two things combined are what makes him so successful. His athletes see that he cares a lot about what he does by being thoughtful and organized in his plan as well as in the execution. What makes this so well is that he applies that same approach to each individual.



"There is always a very thought-out plan for each and every athlete, taking into account who they are as people and what is going to bring out the best in them long-term. The time, energy, and effort that he puts into this process is reflected in the results and performances of each athlete over the years. Greg's success is not by chance or luck. It is a very deliberate plan which is executed in a way that always puts the care of the athlete first.''



Those plans for the next year and a half will be expanded to the Olympic team. There is plenty of work to be done before the team trials, scheduled for late June next year in Omaha.



"I have a pretty good handle on it,'' Meehan said about juggling two jobs. "Tracy is a great help; she totally gets this part of it. We're already working on things to kind of help with that balance. Ultimately Stanford is my number one priority.



"There will be a lot of meetings and conversations in terms of planning, but ultimately I have to make sure our Stanford athletes do a good job at the Olympic Trials and get on the team. Then it's more about taking that team and that group of people as Team USA and help them move forward to Tokyo. It's a pretty long haul to get to that point.''



A haul that nearly never began.