Head Coach Nancy Luley
Date of birth:
May 24, 1956 		Hometown:
Pittsburgh, PA
High school:
Upper St. Clair High School (1974)		 College:
Penn State University (1977)
Year at Messiah:
Second		 Family:
Husband (Rich), three daughters (Kate, Anne, Erin) one son (Ben)
Record at Messiah:
Men 3-5; Women 1-8		 Career Record:
Men 3-5; Women 1-8

Nancy Luley begins her second season as the head men’s and women’s swimming coach at Messiah College in 2009-2010, looking to improve on a successful inaugural season in ‘08-‘09.

Messiah’s men’s team captured a fifth-place finish in the 2009 MAC Championships, putting a brilliant finish on the program’s first season of existence. The Falcons brought just nine men to the championship meet, yet walked away in the top half of the 10-team event, holding fourth place through the first day of competition.

Overall, Messiah’s men’s team finished with a 3-5 regular-season record in ’08-’09, while the women posted a 1-8 mark.

“It was an incredible first year,” Luley said. “It was so fun to see different swimmers really blossom throughout the course of the season. We had a number of swimmers come out of ‘retirement’ from swimming as a first-year program. We had a number of juniors and seniors that hadn’t swam for years. That was a challenge, but to see how they improved over the course of the year was awesome. That’s what made last year so rewarding not just for me, but I think for everyone on the team as well. They have very, very much to be proud of and we, as a program, have a lot to look forward to.”

Luley arrived to Messiah after serving as the Mechanicsburg Area High School head boys’ and girls’ swimming coach for the previous two years, serving. as Mechanicsburg’s varsity assistant coach for the eight years before that.

While her first collegiate coaching position, Luley made her presence felt immediately, garnering 16 men and 21 women to the team for the Falcons’ first season of competition.

“I am honored to be chosen for this position,” Luley said upon her hiring. “It’s an amazing opportunity to start a program from scratch. I’m very excited to be part of the Messiah community. There aren’t many chances in life to start something from the ground up. I am excited for that challenge.”

Named the Carlisle Sentinel’s 2008 Swim Coach of the Year, Luley helped guide her Mechanicsburg girls’ team to an undefeated, 11-0 record in 2007-2008, leading her boys’ team to an 8-3 record overall. Mechanicsburg placed swimmers to PIAA State Competition in every year of Luley’s tenure as both a head and assistant coach, while she estimates an average of three to four swimmers went on to swim at the college level each year.

Luley jointly served as the head coach of the Mechanicsburg Swim Club for the past three years, a youth program for swimmers ages five to 19. Prior to taking over that club, Luley served as an assistant coach at the prestigious West Shore YMCA for five years.

Luley describes her coaching style as nurturing, with a strong emphasis on academics. During her tenure at Mechanicsburg High School, Luley’s teams maintained a strong presence on the honor roll. She is a lifetime member of the American Swim Coaches Association and National Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association.

“We need to make our name in the pool,” Luley said of her opportunity at Messiah. “I’m going to encourage kids to be leaders. It’s not often that you get a chance to establish something bigger than yourself. Usually you step into a program that already has a history. We have a chance to start a tradition here. And that is truly special.”

Luley graduated from Penn State University in 1977. She is married to her husband, Rich, and they have four children: Ben, Kate, Anne and Erin. Erin was one of Luley’s best swimmers at Mechanicsburg, placing third in the 2006 500-meter freestyle state championships and sixth in the 200-meter freestyle championships.