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WHS swim and dive coach Mike Foley takes home 500th win of career
Credit: Courtesy of Deirdre Brown
Wayland Warriors swim and dive head coach Mike Foley holds a kickboard after being awarded the 500th and 501st win of his career. Foley accepts this kickboard with the signatures of the athletes and coached who helped him achieve this goal.
December 28, 2019
WHS swim and dive coach Mike Foley got his 499th and 500th wins after twenty-one years of coaching at Wayland on Thursday, Dec. 12th. Foley got the job in 1999 after the previous coach, Sean Powell, retired.
“This is my 21st year, so the 1999-2000 winter was my first year,” Foley said.
When Foley started coaching, one of his mentors was his dad, who coached at Weston High School at the time. He also had his assistant coach, Heath Melliones, who helped him throughout his coaching career. Coach Melliones continues to help coach for Wayland.
“Those first few years, he was a huge piece, and he still is, but he was the main person who was really teaching me what to do,” Foley said. “I was very lucky to have coach Mel, who had been coaching twenty-five years or so at the time. In my third year or so he came to be my assistant, so I had an assistant coach that had more experience coaching then I did. He really taught me a lot about how to handle certain situations, how to talk to kids, how to motivate, and then he was great with line ups, and overall I have just been super lucky.”
Over the course of many years, Foley has added to his coaching staff from all over. He believes this is a key part of the success of his team. Foley also believes that the alumni who continue to come back and support the team add to their favorable outcome
“The whole coaching staff just keeps coming back year after year, and I think that has a lot to do with our team’s success,” Foley said.
Not only is the team supported by the coaching staff, but the Wayland Junior Warriors(WJW) play an influential part in the team. WJW is a recreational swim team for Wayland swimmers of grades one through eight. This is a very competitive team that prepares the students for the intensity of the high school team.
“You know, we have a great rec program that leads up to high school, and that has really always added a ton to our depth,” Foley said.
Overall, Foley is very grateful to have 500 career wins and hopes for many more.
“It’s pretty cool, [and] it’s nothing that I would have ever expected to happen,” Foley said.
