Longtime Darien Swimming & Diving Coach Steps Down: 'It's Been A Great Ride'

DARIEN, CT — After 24 years leading the girls swimming and diving team at Darien High School, Marj Trifone is stepping down.

Trifone, a Darien native who joined the Blue Wave swimming and diving program as a head coach in 1999, is moving down to Charleston, S.C., to accept a teaching and coaching job at Wando High School, where her husband, Rob, has been teaching biology and coaching football for the past year.

Most of Trifone's family also lives down south and in the Charleston area.

"I've been in Connecticut my whole life. I grew up in Darien, I went to Darien High School and swam on the Darien High School swim team, and I've been doing this for so long that I just felt it was such a great opportunity to go do something different and be with my family," Trifone told Patch. "You don't know if you're going to get those opportunities again."

During her tenure as head coach for the Blue Wave girls swimming and diving team, Trifone racked up 19 state class championships in 24 years, with four second-place finishes and a third-place finish thrown in. Her resume also includes five FCIAC titles.

But despite all the accolades, Trifone said her biggest accomplishment was establishing relationships with her swimmers and their families and teaching her athletes important life lessons through sports.

"The memories I've had with all of them are kind of irreplaceable," Trifone added. "It's been sweet for sure having 19 state championships out of 24 years; it's been such a successful program, but I think developing the concept of team and watching them grow up as young women and learning about so many things that you learn from sport that can help you throughout life."

Trifone has attended the weddings of former swimmers and has even babysat their kids.

"To be a part of your swimmers' lives and then their kids' lives... It's been a great ride," Trifone said.

DHS Athletic Director Chris Manfredonia praised Trifone and what she's meant to the swimming and diving program over the years.

"If I had one word that best describes Marj Trifone, it’s 'passion,'" Manfredonia told Patch via email. "Marj has a passion for everything she does: coaching, teaching, everything. What really makes Marj special, besides all the FCIAC and state championships, is the relationship she builds with her swimmers. Marj is most proud of telling about the weddings she attends years later of girls who swam for her. She makes connections with kids that are really special."

About a week-and-a-half ago, Trifone invited the current team to her house for pizza where she shared the news of her departure.

"It was really hard," Trifone said. "I just said I loved them and cared about them."

Trifone's ties to swimming in Darien go back to 1985 when she started teaching swimming at Middlesex Club.

"I intend on coming back up in the summer, and hopefully being at Middlesex Club for a while," Trifone said. "We'll see."

As for a replacement, assistant coach Erin Ritz is a potential candidate.

Ritz has been Trifone's assistant for two years and is also a teacher at DHS.

Trifone said she's someone she'd like to see take over the head coaching spot. A new coach has not yet been hired.