Randy Bennett, former UBC Thunderbird swimming assistant coach and head coach of the Swimming Canada High Performance Centre in Victoria B.C., passed away on April 27, 2015 of cancer.
"Randy had an obvious impact on Canadian Swimming," said Steve Price, head swimming coach at UBC. "He really moved towards High Performance Coaching during his time at UBC and was a big part of our success during the Decade of Dominance.... We had fun, we pushed each other to be better and we expected a lot from each other. Randy went on to become one of the pre-eminent coaches in Canada and proved with that with desire and hard work you can be successful. With all his accolades his greatest pride was his family especially his two boys. Our hearts go out to his family, friends, colleagues and his swimmers. There is a big hole in Canadian Sport today but we will rally and carry on.”
Bennett worked as an assistant coach from 1993 to 2002 before becoming the head coach at Swimming Canada High Performance Centre in Victoria. During Bennett’s time at UBC the team was incredibly successful and Bennett was recently inducted to UBC’s Sports Hall of Fame
“At any meet, coaches and swimmers from across the country turned to him for his guidance, input and direction. His leadership had significant influence in what accomplishments were being brought into reality for Canadian swimmers. His absence will be felt for quite some time because he did have such a large impact,” said Hayley Mundeva, a former UBC student.
This success and respect could be traced to Bennett’s toughness, but also to his caring.
“He was a tough coach. But I think, maybe that up front toughness kind of just masked how much he really cared about each athlete individually,” said Alec Page, one of Bennett’s swimmers.
Coaches and swimmers who knew Bennett stressed his passion for the sport and for his athletes. He worked swimmers hard but only so that they could reach their full potential.
“He cared a lot about everyone, he may not have shown it but he definitely did,” said Page. “The best word to describe Randy would be relentless. He knew how hard we were working but he still never really gave us any leave. He was always expecting the best out of every single one of us, no matter what level you were at.”
Bennett’s reach also extended outside of swimming. He loved blues rock and was a down-to-earth, small-town guy, according to Page.
Even though he was a serious coach and serious about swimming, Page remembers Bennett as a fun guy and the laughs they had.
“I think the thing I'll take away is what I said before, always striving to improve or better yourself but being patient with it,” said Page.