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Vic Riggs

Position: Head Assistant Coach Years At USC: 3rd

Vic Riggs, a veteran swim coach with more than a decade of experience coaching club swimmers from the developmental to Olympic levels, is in his third year as head assistant coach on USC's staff.

In his second year at USC, Riggs helped guide Ous Mellouli (400y IM) and Larsen Jensen (1650y Free) to their first NCAA titles. He was also key in the development of All-Americans Mihaly Flaskay (second in the 100y breast at the NCAAs) and Sean Sussex (fourth fastest 50y free performance in school history). Overall, he helped coach 12 Trojan men's and women's swimmers earn All-American recognition.

In his first year at USC, Riggs helped coach 2004 All-Americans Ous Mellouli and Paul Fahey as well as NCAA champion Kalyn Keller (1500m free), among others.

Riggs is the recruiting coordinator for the men's and women's teams and is the coach for the sprint and breaststroke groups.

Riggs, an All-American swimmer and a two-time Olympic Trial qualifier, joined USC after two years (2001-03) as head coach and owner of the Gator Swim Club in Gainesville, Fla. During that time, he also served as the head coach for the U.S. National Distance Camp in May of 2002, his second consecutive stint as the camp's head coach (2000).

From 1995 to 2001, Riggs, 36, and his wife, Renee, directed the Nellie Gail Saddleback Valley Gators, coaching more than 120 swimmers from ages 5 to 21, from novice level to Olympic.

Among the athletes Riggs coached in that time was current Trojan All-American and Olympic medallist Kaitlin Sandeno, who won a bronze at the 2000 Olympics. During his time with NGSV, Riggs coached 15 junior national swimmers who won three junior national titles, set two junior national records, 26 National Championship standards, 15 Top 8 National Championship finishes, 57Junior National qualifying standards and 11 2000 Olympic Trial standards.

Before joining efforts with his wife, Riggs served as the senior and age group head coach at Saddleback Valley Aquatics in Lake Forest, Calif., from 1991-95. He was an assistant swim coach at Cal State San Bernardino from 1990-91 and also served as head age group coach for Riverside Aquatics in that time.

He began his coaching career in Southern California as the senior assistant at Fullerton Area Sports Team (FAST) in 1989.

Riggs competed at California, earning All-American second team notice in 1986 and swam on Cal's second-place NCAA team that year. He was ranked seventh in the world in the 1500m free and 9th in the 400m free in 1985 and was in the Top 25 in the world in both events in 1984.

A 1985 World University Games participant for the U.S., he was an Olympic Trials qualifier in 1984 and 1988. He was a 28-time qualifier for the U.S. Senior Nationals from 1983-89 and won a junior national title in 1982.

Riggs is married to wife Renee and they have four girls. They are Abigail, 5, Kathryn, 3, and infant twins, Irene and Caroline.