Ally Briano Named COS Swimming and Diving Head Coach

Helping people.

It is what new College of the Sequoias head coach Allyson Briano strives to do in every facet of life.

"My favorite part of working with people who want change is that they are so coachable and willing to try anything to get better," Briano said. "It's rewarding to pass along the information I learned from Olympians, to help our community here in Visalia."

Before taking the Sequoias job, Briano taught as an English professor at COS for the past four years. She also taught at El Diamante High School, in addition to being the swim and dive head coach.

As the head coach, Briano led the Miners to three consecutive boys and girls West Yosemite League titles.

Briano is no stranger to swim competition, competing at Mt. Whitney High School in the 1990's. Upon graduation, she attended the University of Southern California. At USC, Briano was on the 1997 National Championship team.

"It was one of the highlights of my life," Briano said of the division one title. "It was the collimation of years of hard work, and probably one of the moments that made me want to coach. I don't think I appreciated how big the accomplishment was, until I got older."

Briano is thrilled to be the next Giants head coach, and she is ready to bring her hardworking style to the program.

"My mentality is: We are going to work really hard, have fun doing it, set goals, achieve them, and set even bigger goals to win championships," Briano said.

In addition to being the swim and dive head coach, Briano is also a full time faculty member in the physical education division at College of the Sequoias.

The Giants are also undergoing renovations on their aquatics complex on campus, with the project slated to be completed before the 2018 swim season. Briano thinks the renovations will bring a different feel to the program, and to her dream job.

"I have to pinch myself that this is even real sometimes, and this is going to be my life," Briano said. "I would have been happy in the old pool, but it's going to be a fresh start for the program and I."