Senior Profile
Suburban Seahawks Club Head Coach Charlie Kennedy
Charlie Kennedy:
The SSC Team, 2019 Middle Atlantic Senior Swimming Champions
Two Paths, One Journey by Christina Manning Photos from the collection of Charlie Kennedy We’re delighted to share this “Senior Profile,” about Charlie Kennedy, a Newtown Square resident who felt a calling towards two different careers: music and swimming. “My parents met through music, and they always had classical or Broadway music playing throughout the house. My first love was music,” said Charlie. He was classically trained on the piano and also played the pipe organ. Aware of his deep love for music, his father took him to hear the Philadelphia Orchestra for his birthday. “It was a profound experience,” recalled Charlie. When Charlie was 9 years old, he shifted his focus to swimming and what ensued was a “50+ years love affair with the sport,” said Charlie. He first started at St. Albans Swim Club, then at 10, he made the Suburban Swim Club team, as the Suburban Seahawks Club (SSC) team was known back then. He graduated from Marple Newtown High School, and then attended the University of Iowa on an athletic scholarship awarded to
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October 2020
him for his swimming talent. During his senior year at college, he was hoping to go to the Olympic Trials, but, the U.S. boycotted the 1980 Summer Olympics to protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.Though never making it to the Olympic trials himself, as a coach, he would take his own swimmers to seven Olympic Trials. While in college, he rediscovered his passion for music. “When my teammates were out socializing, I went to the music building. I found that playing music took me to another place and helped me relax from the pressures of Division One Athletics,” said Charlie. The love Charlie and his parents, Pat and Lee Kennedy, had for music turned into a professional career for all of them: They became a musical trio called “The Kennedys.” “We performed everywhere we could,” said Charlie, “from weddings and funerals to anniversaries. We were there for people in the good times and bad times.” All three of them sang, with his mother covering many of the lead vocals. His father played the clarinet and Charlie composed the vocal and musical arrangements. “The Kennedys” performed together until 2014. “It was a privilege,” said Charlie, “and I will forever cherish those memories I made with my parents.” During college summers, Charlie came back to St. Albans, to help coach their team. In the summer of 1982, some swimmers’ parents approached him about interviewing for the position of Head Coach at SSC. “The club’s membership had greatly decreased and they weren’t even sure if they could keep the lights on,” explained Charlie. He was, however, intrigued by the idea of being the Head Coach at the club he grew up swimming at. “I wanted to help rebuild and establish this club as an elite program,” said Charlie, “so I took the job.” Still SSC Head Coach 38 years later, Charlie’s main role is choosing the swim meets, planning out the season and basically overseeing anything that has to do with the swim team. “I’m very fortunate to have amazing Assistant Coaches. I could not run this program by myself,” said Charlie. “Their level of expertise is a big reason why this program has been so successful!” In 2016 and 2017, Charlie’s swim team came in 1st Place for the Middle Atlantic Junior Championships. The following two years, they came in 1st Place for the Middle Atlantic Senior Championships - four gold trophies in four years! Charlie’s expertise and dedication earned him the honor of being named 2019 National Club Swimming Association (NCSA) Coach of the Year.
