De Anza College’s aquatics team welcomed former Foothill College athletes and head coach after Owls’ now-canceled program endured four years without a replacement pool.
Coach Jeffrey Bissell and Brandon Wang, 20, applied math major, are among the few transfers who’ve been competing as Mountain Lions for the swim and dive preseason.
Bissell pitched the transfer idea to Foothill’s athletic department multiple times but was rejected by college administrators. The administration changed its decision earlier this year when Bissell estimated only three to five athletes would join the Owl swim team.
Wang said he was done with swimming when he learned Foothill’s team would be suspended.
“Then I heard De Anza was combining, so it was a good change,” Wang said.
Bissell began coaching at Foothill in 2001 as the women’s water polo coach. The program won 15 Coast Conference titles and regularly qualified for state championships before the college phased it out in 2022.
“I probably have five or six years left before I retire,” Bissell said. “I like the opportunity to help a large team to reach a goal to win a Coast Conference Championship and reach top five in the state.”
Bissell won three Coast Conference Championships with the Foothill swim team and two state championships for 200 meter breaststroke.
Sophomore De Anza swimmer Nikki Volpe, 19, astrophysics major, said she appreciates Bissell’s emphasis on different skills outside of swimming.
“‘Ten minutes early is on time’ is his motto,” Volpe said. “He does the dry land stuff (weight training, running) which has helped me get stronger.”
Athletes and coaches agree that Bissell’s personality balances that of De Anza swim Head Coach Danielle Altman.
“Feminine touch, masculine touch,” Assistant Coach Tammy Hopkins said of their coaching styles.
Hopkins has coached Bissell’s children on club swim teams for the past five years. Altman has known the transfer coach for more than a decade while coaching for the sister colleges and said they’ve remained friendly despite the rivalry.
“The more coaches you have, the easier it is to touch base with all the kids at different levels,” Hopkins said. “It’s nice to have people that can work with each subsection of the sport.”
Wang said he enjoys practicing with the athletes who won the Coast Conference Championship and is working towards winning the state championship in his events — 100 and 200 meter breaststroke, along with 200 individual medley.
“Tammy is probably one of the best coaches in the Bay Area. I’m loving that,” Wang said. “I like the bigger squad, it’s a better environment.”
The three coaches, along with Head Diving Coach Doug Schwandt, planned to meet in January to go over the aquatics program’s expectations and coaching strategies.
“The ultimate goal is that we provide the student athletes the opportunity to do the best that they can,” Altman said. “As far as that goes, the four of us are on the same exact page.”
Foothill Athletic Director Mike Teijeira said Foothill lost water every day from leaking pipes in the pool, which have been there since 1957. Along with making recruitment harder, the pool closure negatively impacted Foothill’s kinesiology classes and killed the revenue stream from renting the facility.
“It’s hard to recruit when you’re like, ‘Come swim for the college, but we don’t have a pool,’’’ De Anza Athletics Director Ron Hannon said. “Foothill has had to train here at De Anza. It’s become more of a struggle.”
The pool renovation is estimated to be completed in 2028, but without a contractor the project continues without a final estimate. Treijeiro said he received quotes around $28 million, which would pull from Measure G.
Transfer athletes must “establish residency” or enroll in 12 units at their new college to compete. The administration waived this requirement, allowing Foothill students to compete as De Anza students while playing under Foothill.
