An Acadia graduate, Fry spent the bulk of his amazingly successful coaching career at Dalhousie, where he led his men’s and women’s teams to a combined total of 30 conference championships.
He was Dalhousie’s overall Coach of the Year four times, the AUS swimming Coach of the Year 20 times (10 each for men and women), and was twice CIS Coach of the Year, for women’s swimming in 2003 and men’s in 2007.
When Fry retired as head coach at Dalhousie in 2012 at age 60, he had been involved with the Dal swim program for 30 years, including 16 as head coach, and had coached swimming for 40 years in all.
He was instrumental in developing a tradition of excellence at Dalhousie that is likely to continue for years to come.
When Chris Stone left his position as head coach of the Acadia swim teams on fairly short notice in the summer of 2014, Fry accepted an invitation to become head coach at Acadia on an interim basis for the 2014-2015 season.
Under his direction, the Acadia swim teams had their most successful season since the program was resurrected in 2009, finishing a strong second in the AUS (behind Dal) and qualifying seven swimmers (three men, four women) for CIS nationals.
At season's end, Fry was named AUS Male Swimming Coach of the Year for an eleventh time, including seven in a row at Dalhousie from 2006-2012.
Acadia’s athletic director Kevin Dickie knew his choice to hire Fry as interim head coach for the Axemen and Axewomen for 2014-2015 was not only an easy choice, but a good one.
“I had so much respect for his body of work and his integrity as a coach,” Dickie said Oct. 22. When Fry retired for a second and final time this spring, “I let him know he made our program better in one short year just by being the person he was.”
Dickie added, “he made my life better by just getting to meet such a tremendously competitive, but wonderfully valued person. He was a nice man.”
Current Acadia head swim coach Gary MacDonald worked closely with Fry for close to 15 years, eight of them (2004-2012) as his assistant coach at Dal.
"He was a very passionate and caring man, and an amazing coach who helped dozens of swimmers over the course of his career," MacDonald said Oct. 23.
Fry, he said, "was always focused on swimming success with an honest and forthright approach. He was a man of integrity, and instilled his many great values to his swimmers so they were not only great athletes, but better people.
"I enjoyed working with him as my mentor, and learned so much from him," MacDonald said. "He led by example, and always included his assistant coaches with their feedback. The pool deck will miss him immensely."
A celebration of Fry’s life will be held Oct. 31 at 2 p.m. at the Dalhousie University Club.
An Acadia graduate, Fry spent the bulk of his amazingly successful coaching career at Dalhousie, where he led his men’s and women’s teams to a combined total of 30 conference championships.
He was Dalhousie’s overall Coach of the Year four times, the AUS swimming Coach of the Year 20 times (10 each for men and women), and was twice CIS Coach of the Year, for women’s swimming in 2003 and men’s in 2007.
When Fry retired as head coach at Dalhousie in 2012 at age 60, he had been involved with the Dal swim program for 30 years, including 16 as head coach, and had coached swimming for 40 years in all.
He was instrumental in developing a tradition of excellence at Dalhousie that is likely to continue for years to come.
When Chris Stone left his position as head coach of the Acadia swim teams on fairly short notice in the summer of 2014, Fry accepted an invitation to become head coach at Acadia on an interim basis for the 2014-2015 season.
Under his direction, the Acadia swim teams had their most successful season since the program was resurrected in 2009, finishing a strong second in the AUS (behind Dal) and qualifying seven swimmers (three men, four women) for CIS nationals.
At season's end, Fry was named AUS Male Swimming Coach of the Year for an eleventh time, including seven in a row at Dalhousie from 2006-2012.
Acadia’s athletic director Kevin Dickie knew his choice to hire Fry as interim head coach for the Axemen and Axewomen for 2014-2015 was not only an easy choice, but a good one.
“I had so much respect for his body of work and his integrity as a coach,” Dickie said Oct. 22. When Fry retired for a second and final time this spring, “I let him know he made our program better in one short year just by being the person he was.”
Dickie added, “he made my life better by just getting to meet such a tremendously competitive, but wonderfully valued person. He was a nice man.”
Current Acadia head swim coach Gary MacDonald worked closely with Fry for close to 15 years, eight of them (2004-2012) as his assistant coach at Dal.
"He was a very passionate and caring man, and an amazing coach who helped dozens of swimmers over the course of his career," MacDonald said Oct. 23.
Fry, he said, "was always focused on swimming success with an honest and forthright approach. He was a man of integrity, and instilled his many great values to his swimmers so they were not only great athletes, but better people.
"I enjoyed working with him as my mentor, and learned so much from him," MacDonald said. "He led by example, and always included his assistant coaches with their feedback. The pool deck will miss him immensely."
A celebration of Fry’s life will be held Oct. 31 at 2 p.m. at the Dalhousie University Club.
