Andy Mosley restores some glory to Erie Mason boys swimming program
ERIE – It was safe for Jack to go back.
Jack Michael started Erie Mason’s swimming team and built it into one of the top small-school programs in the state.
But even the man who the pool at the school is named after became disillusioned by the disarray surrounding his beloved program.
“He pretty much gave up going to meets,” said current coach Andy Mosley. “It was not fun anymore.”
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It was fun again to be an Eagle this year.
Erie Mason-Ida won the Monroe County Championship, finished second in the Southeast Michigan Independent Swimming League and made a strong showing at the Division 3 state meet.
That led to Mosley being named Monroe County Region Boys Swimming Coach of the Year.
Mosley couldn’t wait to call his former coach after the victory in the county meet.
“He was so proud,” Mosley said. “He came to league meet and sat right by the pool. It was so exciting to see him cheering us on.”
Mosley became the Mason-Ida coach as a favor.
More: Erie Mason-Ida swimming coach Andy Mosley brings alma mater to top
He was approached by a family friend six years ago asking him to return to his alma mater.
“She had a son on the team who was a senior,” Mosley recalled. “She knew I was a swimmer at Mason, but I had never coached before.”
With his lack of coaching experience, Mosley enlisted some help before applying for the job. He got his former teammate Kevin Smith to agree to be his assistant.
“I said I wouldn’t do it without Kevin,” he said. “We swam together. We both graduated in 1995.”
The once-proud Mason program had slipped badly when Mosley took over.
“They hadn’t been to the state meet in six or seven years when I got there,” he recalled. “Every now and then they would have a diver go, but no swimmers. … Two years before I took over, they had six or seven kids on the team.”
Mosley took the responsibility seriously.
“I swam a year in college, so I was familiar with the sport, but it was a big learning process to be sure,” he said. “The biggest thing was working with kids and learning about the boys.
“I read up on it. I have a military background. It helped to have that structure.”
Mosley tried college swimming after graduating from Mason, but discovered that it wasn’t for him.
“Swimming is so hard at the level,” he said. “Finally, I quit and joined the Navy.”
Mosley, who currently works as an engineer for the Ford Motor Co., still is a member of the Navy Reserves. He recently reached the rank of Chief Petty Officer.
He is a very busy man during the boys swimming season.
On most days he rises at 4:30 a.m. and swims with friends at the Monroe YMCA. He then drives to Mason for practice at 6 a.m. before heading to his job in Dearborn.
Then he is back at the Michael Natatorium for afternoon swimming practice.
He leans a lot on Smith and fellow assistant Alex Small.
He had a lot of good leaders in the pool.
“The good part about the team this year was that the seniors really stepped up,” he said. “They really helped me out.”
The season was filled with a lot of big moments for the Eagles, especially the county meet.
“The boys were so excited,” he said. “And even getting second at the league meet was exciting. Riverview was so stacked this year.”
Mosley also was delighted with his team’s 18th-place showing in the Division 3 state finals.
“We were within a tenth of a second of four different varsity records,” he said.
Mosley met his wife Mackenzie when he was stationed with the Navy in New Jersey. The couple has two children, a senior and an eighth grader at Bedford.
Mason-Ida will graduate just six of the 18 swimmers it had on the roster this season.
“People are starting to step up,” he said. “We’ve got some good eighth graders coming in next year. We’re going to be better.”
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Boys Swimming Coach of Year: Mosley makes former coach proud
