Bob Mattson

He swam competitively for North Carolina State University from 1951 to 1955 under Coach Willis Casey, who never had a losing season, and had an exceptional NC State Swimming Dual Meet record of 189-23. Earlier, in February 1954, he set a new National collegiate record in the 120-yard individual medley of 1:11.9. He was the first NC State swimmer to receive All-American honors in four consecutive years. In August 1954, he swam breaststroke with the team of backstroker Bill Sonner, Butterflier Dick Fadgen, and Freestyler Dave McIntyre and won the 400-meter medley relay at the National AAU Swimming meet in Indianapolis with a time of 4:34.7. In an equally rare distinction, in 1954 he captured the world record in the 400-individual medley with a time of 5:31.2, set at the Dixie American Athletic Meet in Kinston, North Carolina. Graduation and professional work Receiving his B.S. with honors in Chemistry after graduating NC State second in his class in 1955, he took a job in the textile chemistry industry, for the Joseph Bancroft Company, where he led the team that initially developed and then produced the Ban-Lon shirt. He continued to pursue swimming at Wilmington's Central Branch YMCA and coached some with Hercules, Inc., summer club teams. Soon he had a regular year-round crew of swimmers he'd coach in the indoor pool at Wilmington's Jewish Community Center, on French Street in Wilmington. ==Wilmington Aquatic Club==

After initially coaching swimming on the side, he started the Wilmington Aquatic Club with only 15 swimmers by around 1954-5. Mattson used the majority of his savings to begin building the Wilmington Swim School, and quit his textiles job by 1963 to coach full time. Mattson continued coaching into the 2000s. Bruce Gemmell, 56, a graduate of Delaware's Mount Pleasant High School believed “Bob was an innovator before being an innovator was cool.” Gemmell swam for Mattson as a kid and coached Katie Ledecky to five Olympic gold medals. Mattson was considered unique in always being willing to try new kick and stroke techniques instead of sticking exclusively with traditional methods. Gemmell, an outstanding coach himself, believed Mattson could make small changes in stroke technique that combined with masterful coaching could vastly improve a swimmer's technique and stroke mechanics. ==Athletes coached==

Swimmers he mentored at Wilmington included 1968 Olympians Dave Johnson and Jenny Bartz, 1976 Olympian and NCAA Champion Steve Gregg, and national champions, Marry-de Mackie, Jenni Franks and Seth Van Neerden, Tom Evans (NCSU) and Eric Ericson (UNC). He had many Olympic Trials qualifiers. Other outstanding swimmers included Larry Countryman, Shafer Henry, and Barbara Harris. Mattson's former swimmers who became successful coaches included Edgar Johnson, older brother of the 1968 Olympian Dave, and Sid Cassidy. Johnson coached at the University of Delaware, and became their Athletic Director. Sid Cassidy coached with Mattson at WAC and later at St. Andrews Prep in Boca Raton, Florida. ==Honors==

Mattson was inducted into the North Carolina State University Swimming Hall of Fame, the North Carolina Swimming Hall of Fame, the Delaware Sports Hall of Fame in 2005, and as mentioned, the ASCA Coach's Hall of Fame. Mattson died at the age of 93 on June 20, 2023, in Wilmington, Delaware. He married Nancy Haubein, after coaching her in the late 1950s when she was attending Newark High School. They married in 1961 when she was a student at the University of Delaware. Nancy also coached for many years. Mattson and Nancy had children Eric, and Jennifer, and Bob had a son Steve from a previous marriage. He had seven grandchildren. ==References==