Springfield College

Howard Hinds '00 will enter his second season as the head coach of the men's and women's swimming programs and assistant professor of physical education at Springfield College during the 2025-26 academic year. 

During his first season as the head coach, Hinds helped the men's team to a successful year, finishing third at the NEWMAC Conference Championships which was their highest finish since 2013. He also had four student-athletes named to the CSC Academic All-District Team and senior Jonathan Chan, was a finalist for the NEWMAC Student-Athlete of the Year. On the women's side, the team finished fourth at the conference championships and had four student-athletes earn CSC Academic All-District honors. Senior Nina Lamb qualified for two events at the NCAA Division III Swimming & Diving Championships and earned All-American honors in the 100 Yard Breaststroke. 
 
Hinds joins a short list of coaches who have led the swimming and diving squads in the program's storied history.  He takes over for John Taffe who retired after a 35-year tenure on Alden Street as he becomes the 10^th head coach for Springfield College since the program started in 1915 and only the fourth since 1938.
 
Hinds had been the full-time assistant coach for the Springfield College men's and women's swimming and diving programs since September 2022 and made an immediate impact on the program. In the last two years, the Pride has established seven new program records and had 10 individual qualifiers for the NCAA Division III Championships.
 
Hinds was a standout student-athlete in his time at Springfield College and was a member of the 2020 Springfield College Athletics Hall of Fame Class.  During his time in the pool, he established a number of program records, including five in 1999, and still holds the program record for the 100 freestyle (45.08), which he set in 2000. A six-time All-America honoree, Hinds was twice named NEWMAC Swimmer of the Year, and at the conclusion of his career, was a co-recipient of the Robert Muir Award, given annually to the senior swimmer who has scored the most points in four years of competition at the New England Championships.
 
Hinds made his mark on the international swimming scene as well, as he raced in the 1999 and 2003 Pan-American Games for Netherlands Antilles, and reached the semifinals of the 50 freestyle 2003. A two-time Olympian who competed for Netherlands Antilles in the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games, he finished 51st in the world in the 100 free and 52nd in the 50 free in the 2000 Olympics. 
  
After graduation, Hinds has worked as a developmental coach for the Long Island Aquatic Club and the New York City-based Impact Training, where he has worked with swimmers and athletes of all levels as a personal trainer.