Atwater High to honor longtime coach Svendsen

At 60 years old, Atwater High athletic director Roddy Svendsen says not much surprises him anymore.

This surprised him.

On Sept. 15, Atwater High School will name its pool area the Roddy Svendsen Aquatic Center in honor of the longtime water polo and swimming coach. The ceremony, which is open to past players, Atwater staff and the community, will start at 6 p.m.

“When I heard about it, I thought it was pretty amazing,” Svendsen said. “It’s pretty crazy to think this will still be around after I’m gone. It’s quite an honor.”

It’s a well-deserved honor, said Merced Union High School Assistant Superintendent Alan Peterson, who served as principal at Atwater High for 51/2 years.

“Roddy spent his entire career at Atwater,” Peterson said. “He’s a pillar of the Atwater community and the high school. He’s put out countless All-American swimmers, championship teams and section competing teams. What I’m most proud of Roddy during my time at Atwater is he’s an outstanding math teacher. A lot of people don’t know that about Roddy.”

Svendsen was the head coach of the Falcons boys’ water polo team for 27 years and coached on and off for 34 years total. Svendsen coached Atwater to over 500 wins. Svendsen spent part of five different decades coaching at the school.

“We took pride in our consistency,” he said. “In my 27 years as head coach, we made the playoffs 25 times. We were always in the hunt. It’s been a good run at Atwater High.”

In 2012, the California Interscholastic Federation honored Svendsen as a Model Coach award winner. In 2013, he was chosen by the California Athletic Directors Association as the Athletic Director of the Year.

Svendsen came to Atwater after winning four national championships as a water polo player at Cal. One memory that sticks out is that first season as the Atwater coach in 1979.

“We made the playoffs that year when we weren’t supposed to win a game,” Svendsen said. “One thing I’ve enjoyed is seeing all the guys. Water polo is like a fraternity. A lot of the guys I’ve coached have gone on to coach, and I’m proud of that.”

One of his former players who went on to coach was his son David, who is now coaching at Atwater. David was the leading scorer as a junior on the 2004 team that won a Central California Conference title and reached the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I semifinals.

“David being named the league MVP and us winning the championship was a special year,” Roddy said. “As a dad, that was a lot of fun.”

Svendsen’s longevity as a coach in the area is rare, especially in an era where coaches last five or 10 years before they get burned out.

“Look around our area,” Peterson said. “You have coaches like Vince Clemons (Merced), Angelo Naldi (Livingston), Roddy Svendsen, and I think you’ll think of Keith Hunter (Golden Valley) in these terms some day.

“Very few coaches – even going back to the ’60s and ’70s – stick around that long. It says something about Roddy and his perseverance and passion for sports. He has a love for aquatics, and he instills that in his athletes.”

Svendsen learned of the honor just before attending a high school Board of Trustees meeting.

“He was surprised when he found out, as anyone would be,” Peterson said. “We tried to keep it a secret, but I think he found out the day before they announced it at a board meeting. When they announced it at the meeting, there were tears in his eyes. It was very humbling.”

When Svendsen is asked why he kept coaching, his answer is the kids. He was never about chasing personal milestones. He enjoyed being around the kids.

“At the end of each season is when you do a little thinking, but immediately the kids want to start preparing for the next season,” Svendsen said. “One season runs into the next. The kids are so incredibly dedicated that as soon as the last game ends they want to start getting ready for next year. That keeps you going as a coach when you have kids like that. There was no way to get out of it.”

This story was originally published September 4, 2015 at 5:34 PM with the headline "Atwater High to honor longtime coach Svendsen."