Ro Murphy (romurphy@ursinus.edu)
With six Women’s Swim Team Conference Champ titles, eight consecutive Coach of the Year awards, and 200 plus wins, head Swim Coach, Mark Feinberg, has sailed many successful ships. Going into his seventeenth season as the head coach of both Ursinus swimming teams, he has had a number of successes. His most recent accomplishment? He grasped his 200th win in a meet against York College two weekends ago. You may be wondering how Feinberg has continued to make such strides, and what has motivated him to do so. Let’s dive in!
Feinberg’s success did not stop with the benchmark win. On the weekend of November 5th, the Women’s Swim team beat Bryn Mawr College and Widener University. Also, the Men’s Swim team shut down Widener leaving him with a total of 202 wins. “Sharing it with this particular team and on homecoming couldn’t have worked out better. Every class means something different to me with this group of student-athletes,” Feinberg highlighted. “They’ve been through a lot and we’ve shared all kinds of highs and lows. There was a lot of reasons to celebrate that day, the 200th win was just a cherry on top,” he added. Sharing this win with his swimmers, after almost two years away from the meet scenery, has been nothing short of enjoyable for Feinberg.
In addition to his swimmers, there are more people that contributed to making his 200th win a very memorable day. The UC Swim Team coaching staff is among them. Alongside Feinberg, this team also has six other assistant coaches, one of them being the team’s massage therapist. “The coaches take it to a whole new level as well. They are some of my best friends, they are talented, dedicated, and bring professional contributions that I could never match by myself. The student-athletes they have touched over the years are better adults because of their work. No way I have any of this success without them,” Feinberg proudly exclaimed.
But how did Coach Feinberg begin his successful streak and where did his drive for this sport and his team come from? In college, he was a swimmer at Shippensburg University, so his love for the sport started there. His motivation for becoming such a successful mentor started with his coach. “My college coach was the biggest influence in my life other than my parents. I strive to learn and affect lives like he did every day.” Feinberg believes “it’s one of those unattainable goals, but shooting to coach at his standard helps me when I need motivation and makes celebrations a little sweeter when they come along.” While his own coach may have been one of the biggest cheerleaders, there are two people in particular who he strives never to disappoint: his parents. “Ultimately, my parents provide the best foundation. They still come to the meets [why you come to a meet to watch someone coach, I’ll never know], they know all of our times, who’s gunning for champs or NCAAs and how my recruiting is going. If I hold myself to the standard of my mentors and strive to make my family proud, I can’t fail.”
Driving the success of student-athletes like the UC Swim Team has been a huge triumph for him, and something that he does not plan on stopping anytime soon. As he continues to reach for more, this year in particular will be an unforgettable year. UC looks forward to seeing and celebrating many more of his accomplishments. Congratulations to Feinberg on all his success thus far. He sure has made his mark and then some.
