Berkshire County Swim Community Remembers Pittsfield Coach Mazzer

PITTSFIELD, Mass. -- Pittsfield High School swim coach Tim Mazzer is being remembered as a pillar of the sport in Berkshire County by his fellow high school coaches.

 

“Swimming is such a tight, small community,” Wahconah coach Steve Kolis said on Tuesday morning. “Everybody knows everybody. All the coaches who have been in the league have been around it for 20 years or so. We’ve known him forever.”

 

Mazzer died unexpectedly on Sunday evening, Pittsfield Public Schools Athletic Director Jim Abel reported in an email to the high school sports community on Tuesday morning.

 

For the last 10 years, Mazzer was co-coach of the Generals varsity program with Jim Harrington, but Mazzer’s roots in the local swimming community go deeper than that.

 

“I’ve known Tim for a very long time,” Taconic coach Marisa Plant said. “I swam with his daughters since we were super young -- even on the Y team.

 

“One of the things I remember was the Y team had a father/daughter dance. And I remember going with my father and Tim being there with Tyra and Ashley.”

 

Later, as a colleague, Plant gained a new perspective on her friends’ dad.

 

“I just think about how much of a great guy he was, always there for the kids, pushing them to do their best,” she said.

 

“A lot of times, we get swimmers who never swam before, and you’re putting your heart and soul into teaching these kids the sport of swimming and now to love it. Seeing their strokes and progressions over the years.”

 

Mazzer’s passion came from coaching and competing in the sport he loved.

 

“I’ve known Tim for 20 or 30 years or more,” Kolis said. “I swam in the YMCA Masters National Championship in Florida with him a few times.”

 

Abel reported that the PHS swimmers were informed of Mazzer’s passing at a team meeting on Monday at the Boys and Girls Club. Swimmers’ family members were invited, and athletic department staff and counsellors were on hand.

 

Plant started telling her swimmers on Monday after she heard the news.

 

“They were shocked,” she said. “They’re feeling really bad for their fellow swimmers and the [Pittsfield] team and the [Mazzer] family. Most people just couldn’t believe it.

 

“People don’t realize how close knit of a community we really are in swimming. It’s more of a family than opposing teams.”

 

Mazzer was one to welcome new members to that family.

 

“He was such a welcoming person to the league,” New Lebanon, N.Y., High School coach Tim Christiansen said on Tuesday morning. “When I first got here, he was just a really good guy, a really sweet guy. And he helped me out.

 

“People who come and go with other teams, he’s always there to offer help. This is my 12th year already, but obviously 12 years later it stuck with me. Every time I see him on the pool deck, he has a smile on his face, and it was always good to see him.”

 

Abel’s statement focused on the long-time coach’s impact on the program.

 

“A General Dynamics employee, Coach Mazzer was a kind, organized, professional - who carried himself, and represented PHS swimming, with class,” Abel wrote. “His family's loss is also a significant loss for PHS's swim program, and our community.”

 

Plant said the Berkshire County League swim community, which reaches into New York and Bennington, Vt., will find a way to recognize Mazzer’s contributions to the sport at the league’s regular-season ending championships on Feb. 2 at Simon’s Rock in Great Barrington.

 

Kolis' Wahconah team was scheduled to take on Pittsfield on Friday afternoon at the Boys and Girls Club. As of Wednesday morning, the date of and time of that meet was to be determined.

 

“It’s just going to be sad,” Kolis said.

 

“He was just an awesome guy. He loved the sport. He helped with all the swim meets with the YMCA team -- officiating, setting up the meets.

 

“It’s not right. He’s too young. He’s a great guy. I feel bad for his family and his team.”