 Coach Zoller
Coach Zoller has taken the Mt. Vernon Wildcats to the elite levels of Indiana High School Swimming, despite having one of the smaller schools that compete regularly for the top places at the state swim meet.
As of 2010, under his direction, Mt. Vernon High School swimming teams have won 33 conference and 29 sectional championships. His combined boy's and girl's dual meet record at MVHS is 409 wins, 49 loses and 1 tie. During his career Coach Zoller's dual meet record is 618 wins, 148 loses and 3 ties.
Prior to Coach Zoller, the MVHS girls had never finished higher than third in either a conference or sectional meet and had never scored a point at the state meet. Now the girls team has had 7 Indiana State top 20 finishes, with the highest finish being seventh in both 1994 and 2001. The boys team has 4 top 20 Indiana State meet finishes, with the highest finish was third in 1998. His Mt. Vernon teams have also excelled academically with 32 swimmers/divers making Academic All-America honors.
Coach Zoller has set high goals for the Mt. Vernon High School Swimming Teams. He feels that, every year, the team has the potential of winning the Big 8 Conference, Sectional and to finish at least in the top 20 teams at the Indiana High School State Swimming Championships, along with maintaining high academic standards. After coaching at Mt. Vernon since 1991 his goals have been achieved since 1992 with the girl’s teams and since 1995 with the boy’s.
As of 2010, 93 of his swimmers have gone on to swim in college, 57 of those while he coached at Mt. Vernon . He has coached 56 All-American swimmers/divers. He has had four swimmers set state records in either Indiana or Ohio . He has had six swimmers make Olympic Trials two of whom went on to the Olympics. Many of his former swimmers have gone on as coaches, the most noteworthy being Andy Pedersen of Southeastern Swim Club and Hamilton Southeastern Swim Club. Andy has had multiple state championships while at HSE.
His personal swimming career began in 1955 at the Irving Park YMCA and the Park Ridge YMCA, near Chicago . Coach Zoller started his competitive swimming career in 1959 with Portage Park Swim Club in Chicago , Illinois under the legendary club and Northwestern coach, Jack Bolger . From 1961 -1965 he attended Notre Dame High School in Niles , Illinois . There he continued his swimming and was the captain and most valuable swimmer in both his junior and senior year, holding the school record in the 100 butterfly. He was also a member of Notre Dame’s football and track teams.
He attended Loyola University on a swimming scholarship in 1966 and was a member of the varsity water polo and swim teams. After deciding to pursue a career in education as a teacher and swim coach, since Loyola had not degree program in education, he transferred to Kent State University in 1967. Having to sit out a year of competition due to the transfer, he trained with the Kent State University team during the 1967-1968 season. Bad luck struck Coach Zoller’s personal swimming career in October of 1968, while participating on a Kent State Swim Team’s entry in intramural football he dislocated his shoulder and broke his collar bone. After several month of recuperation the shoulder did not respond to treatment and was not able to continue his training.
He was offered a position both as an assistant swim coach with both the University swim team and with University High School swim team. He was very fortunate to assist Paul Bergan, who was then the University High School swim team coach. That team included Brian Job, who went on to hold the American record in the 100 and 200 Breaststroke and was a member of the 1972 U.S. Olympic Team while attending Stanford and Bill Beard, Ohio high school record holder in the 200 and 400 freestylyle who later swam for Indiana University.
After Coach Paul Bergan went on to the Cincinnati Pepsi Marlins, two years later, Zoller went on to assist Dick Wells at Akron Firestone High School. Akron Firestone had been the 1969 Ohio High School State Swim Champs and a regular Ohio powerhouse in high school swimming.. The next year Larry graduated from Kent State and had to make a difficult career choice.
He was offered 12 coaching positions including one as an assistant to Coach Dick Wells with the Venezuelan Pan American Games National Team. Due to uncertain financial considerations Larry turned down that position to assume the head high school swim coach and Aquatic Director at the new Napoleon High School in Ohio . After a very successful 2 year tenure, highlighted by being voted as the Northwest Ohio District High School Swim Coach of the Year in 1972 Coach Zoller was offered a similar position at Bloomington North in Indiana .
While at Bloomington North his team won their Sectional in 1974 and had a fifteenth and eleventh place finish in the Indiana State High School Swimming championships and was elected Indiana High School Runner-up State Coach of the Year both 1973 and 1974. As the Senior Coach of the Bloomington Swim Club, he had the privilege of helping to coach Jennifer Hooker, who went on to a silver medal at the 1976 Montreal Olympics.
After four very successful years as a head coach, Coach Zoller was selected over 96 other applicants as the new Swim Coach and Aquatic Director at Sycamore High School in Montgomery , Ohio . There he started the Sycamore Flying Fish Swim Club. There he had an amazing fourth and third place finish in the Ohio High School State Swim Meets of 1975 and 1976. He was elected Runner-up Ohio State Coach of the Year both those years.
Succumbing to the pressures of being required to finish his Master Degree at Indiana University Coach Zoller took a position within a drivable distance to Bloomington in the summer of 1976 and started the high school and USS program at Bedford North Lawrence High School in Bedford , Indiana . His swimming successes continued as he amassed a 152-54-3 record, including 16 Hoosier Hills Conference and Sectional Championships. While at BNL his teams finished as high as eleventh in the Indiana High School State Meet and he coached Eric Robinson, winner of two individual events in the Indiana High School State Swimming meet.
After thirteen years at Bedford, Coach Zoller decided to take a position with Merrillville High School in Northwestern Indiana. In two years, he took the previously winless Merrillville High School Boy’s Swim Team to a 12-4 dual meet record with third place finishes in both their Sectional and, the powerhouse Duneland Conference Swim Championships.
In 1991 he was given an opportunity he had always hoped for, to design a K-12 swimming program, with the Metropolitan School District of Mt. Vernon . He decided to take on the challenge and accepted the Head Swim Coach and Aquatic Director. He lives in Mt. Vernon with his wife, Brenda. Brenda also assists in the with the MVHS teams.
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