NEW LONDON, Conn. — 

The U.S. Coast Guard Academy Athletics Department has announced the return of Kenny Pancoast as a Diving Coach for the Academy's swimming & diving teams.

Pancoast previously served as the Bears' diving coach starting in 2014 until he stepped away from the position in 2023. He joins Nora Westkott in leading the development of Coast Guard's promising core of young divers.

"It goes without saying that Kenny's return to co-coach the divers is a sort of homecoming," says head coach John Westkott. "He has a proven tenure working with Coast Guard cadet-athletes, so this is a seamless addition."

Pancoast's first stint as diving coach at CGA included designing practice plans, recruiting prospective cadet-athletes, and maintaining diving equipment, responsibilities he will take up again in aiding the development of Bears' divers. Outside of the Academy, Pancoast is a physical education teacher at Quaker Hill School in nearby Waterford, a role he has held since 2016. He was also a paraprofessional at Quaker Hill from 2014 to 2016.

Prior to his first go-around at the Academy, Pancoast received his Bachelor's Degree in Physical Education from Springfield College in 2013. He was an accomplished diver for the Pride as a two-time New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Diver of the Year, a three-time NCAA Division III National Championship qualifier, and a 2012 NCAA Division III All-American. He has worked in several diving and gymnastics coaching positions since then, including at Keene State in 2013 and Masuk High School in Monroe, Connecticut, from 2013 to 2014, and earned a Master's in Education from Sacred Heart University in 2021.

"Kenny has always placed differentiated instruction and the athlete as the prime guides in his coaching approach," says Westkott. "Welcome back, Kenny!"