AURORA | Nick Frasersmith knows he can never fill Mike Doherty’s shoes with the Regis Jesuit boys swim program, but at least he’s walked beside them for a long time.
Frasersmith, who served as an assistant coach for two decades under Doherty — who announced his retirement in August after 32 seasons — officially took over the program last week, seeking to continue a tradition that has produced 20 state championships since 1992.
With that working knowledge, Frasersmith believes the transition will as smooth as possible when a big change like this occurs.
“Having been a part of the program for so long, it’s a little scary; those are incredibly tough shoes to fill,” Frasersmith said Wednesday. “I go in knowing I’m not going to be able to fill them. There’s so much Mike has done and does for this program that I don’t think anybody can duplicate. There’s a lot of things Mike’s done that you don’t see from the outside, but behind the scenes it is incredible. It’s a reflection on why he had so much success.
“It’s impossible for me to try to fill those shoes, but I’ll do the best I can to continue what Mike has built and keep the traditions going.”
Doherty basically built the Regis Jesuit program from scratch back when the school was still housed in North Denver before moving to Aurora in 1990. During Doherty’s tenure, the Raiders won 20 state championships, four national championships, had 91 All-American swimmers and 112 that have gone on to swim in college. Plus a 387-31 dual meet record.
It’s a classic case of if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
To that end, Frasersmith — who also serves as the head coach for the Regis Jesuit girls team, which won its second 5A state championship in three seasons last winter with Missy Franklin competing — intends to keep as much of the original coaching staff intact, including Taylor Roberts, who has helped the Raiders develop the state’s dominant diving program.
Regis Jesuit senior captain Hennessey Stuart, who committed to North Carolina State this week, believes the beat will go on under Frasersmith.
“We’re very confident in our new coach,” said Stuart, who also swims for Frasersmith with the Denver Swim Academy club team, as do a number of other Raiders.
“Nick is the perfect transition to keep the tradition alive.”
Frasersmith isn’t daunted by the amount of time he’ll be spending in the Regis Jesuit pool with the boys and the girls.
“There’s going to be quite a few early mornings and nights, but ultimately it’s not that much more than I’ve done before in being on deck,” he said. “As far as being on deck and the coach stuff, it should be pretty status quo.”
Courtney Oakes is Sports Editor of the Aurora Sentinel. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. Facebook: Aurora Prep Sentinel
