Port Clinton Schools Superintendent Pat Adkins, left, and Swim Coach Danny Diaz stand with the plaque that will honor Diaz inside the school for decades. (Photo by Sheri Trusty)BY SHERI TRUSTYPORT CLINTON – Last spring, Coach Danny Diaz stepped away from 24 years of coaching the Port Clinton High School (PCHS) swim team. On Dec. 18, he stepped back into the PCHS Natatorium so the school could honor him for the impact he made on school athletics and on hundreds of young swimmers. Port Clinton Schools Superintendent Pat Adkins unveiled a plaque honoring Diaz that will be displayed inside the school.Diaz left a remarkable wake of success when he left coaching. Thanks to his leadership, PCHS swimmers reached state level competitions for the past 22 consecutive years. His accomplishments include seven SBC Championships and two consecutive District Championships. He was named District Coach of the Year in 2010, 2022 and 2023. Diaz also coached two of the five PCHS state champions in the school’s history. Becky Diaz claps along with the crowd as they honor her husband, Danny Diaz, for decades of impact on Port Clinton swimmers. (Photo by Sheri Trusty)“He really built a dynasty with our swim team,” Adkins said. “He was not only a swim coach, but a mentor and a role model as well.”Adkins said that swimming demands the most intensive training of any sport at the school, and yet Diaz made swimming fun for the students.“He made a difficult sport enjoyable for our kids,” he said. “Doing anything for 24 years isn’t easy, but he did it, and he did it well.” This plaque will be hung at Port Clinton High School as a reminder of the hundreds of youths impacted by Danny Diaz. (Photo by Sheri Trusty)Although he is no longer coaching swimming, Diaz is still the school’s physical education teacher, and he accepted the position of Dean of Students this year. He also leads the school’s advanced weightlifting program.“So I’m still coaching,” Diaz said. “I found a way to fill that need.”Diaz was overwhelmed to learn the school was honoring him with a plaque.“It’s extremely humbling. I’m very honored,” he said. “When I graduated high school in Florida, if someone would have told me I’d be honored years later in Port Clinton, I would have said you’re crazy.”Diaz believes his success as a coach was dependent on the athletes and adults that surrounded him in the last 24 years. Coach Danny Diaz reacts as he is honored by Superintendent Pat Adkins during a ceremony on Dec. 18. (Photo by Sheri Trusty)“I was thinking – what led to this was the swimmers. They believed in what I taught them,” he said. “It was the swimmers, the community and the school.”The school supported, encouraged and protected the swim team, which often practiced in the early morning hours of the day and again after school.“I was the first person Pat Adkins would call if there was a two-hour delay or school was canceled because he didn’t want my swimmers on the road,” Diaz said. “When you have support like that, it’s difficult not to succeed.”

PCHS honors swim coach Danny Diaz for years of impact

Port Clinton Schools Superintendent Pat Adkins, left, and Swim Coach Danny Diaz stand with the plaque that will honor Diaz inside the school for decades. (Photo by Sheri Trusty) Diaz believes his success as a coach was dependent on the athletes and adults that surrounded him in the last 24 years.Diaz left a remarkable wake […]

Port Clinton Schools Superintendent Pat Adkins, left, and Swim Coach Danny Diaz stand with the plaque that will honor Diaz inside the school for decades. (Photo by Sheri Trusty)

Diaz believes his success as a coach was dependent on the athletes and adults that surrounded him in the last 24 years.Diaz left a remarkable wake of success when he left coaching. Thanks to his leadership, PCHS swimmers reached state level competitions for the past 22 consecutive years. His accomplishments include seven SBC Championships and two consecutive District Championships. He was named District Coach of the Year in 2010, 2022 and 2023. Diaz also coached two of the five PCHS state champions in the school’s history.The school supported, encouraged and protected the swim team, which often practiced in the early morning hours of the day and again after school.

Becky Diaz claps along with the crowd as they honor her husband, Danny Diaz, for decades of impact on Port Clinton swimmers. (Photo by Sheri Trusty)

PORT CLINTON – Last spring, Coach Danny Diaz stepped away from 24 years of coaching the Port Clinton High School (PCHS) swim team. On Dec. 18, he stepped back into the PCHS Natatorium so the school could honor him for the impact he made on school athletics and on hundreds of young swimmers. Port Clinton Schools Superintendent Pat Adkins unveiled a plaque honoring Diaz that will be displayed inside the school.“I was thinking – what led to this was the swimmers. They believed in what I taught them,” he said. “It was the swimmers, the community and the school.”Adkins said that swimming demands the most intensive training of any sport at the school, and yet Diaz made swimming fun for the students.

This plaque will be hung at Port Clinton High School as a reminder of the hundreds of youths impacted by Danny Diaz. (Photo by Sheri Trusty)

“I was the first person Pat Adkins would call if there was a two-hour delay or school was canceled because he didn’t want my swimmers on the road,” Diaz said. “When you have support like that, it’s difficult not to succeed.”“He made a difficult sport enjoyable for our kids,” he said. “Doing anything for 24 years isn’t easy, but he did it, and he did it well.”BY SHERI TRUSTY“He really built a dynasty with our swim team,” Adkins said. “He was not only a swim coach, but a mentor and a role model as well.”“It’s extremely humbling. I’m very honored,” he said. “When I graduated high school in Florida, if someone would have told me I’d be honored years later in Port Clinton, I would have said you’re crazy.”

Coach Danny Diaz reacts as he is honored by Superintendent Pat Adkins during a ceremony on Dec. 18. (Photo by Sheri Trusty)

Diaz was overwhelmed to learn the school was honoring him with a plaque.Although he is no longer coaching swimming, Diaz is still the school’s physical education teacher, and he accepted the position of Dean of Students this year. He also leads the school’s advanced weightlifting program.“So I’m still coaching,” Diaz said. “I found a way to fill that need.”