Nancy Luley begins her ninth season as the head men’s and women’s swimming coach at Messiah College in 2016-17, looking to improve on what has been a continual wave of success since the program’s inaugural season in 2008-09.
In just eight years of existence, Messiah swimming can already boast more than 30 individual or relay MAC Champions, five MAC Rookies of the Year, and MAC Swimmer of the Year, and steadily-improving finishes in the MAC Championships. In each of the past three seasons the Messiah women have earned MAC Championships.
In 2013-14, the Messiah woman also captured their first-ever MAC Championship, with first-year swimmers Tara Freeman (50 freestyle) and Emily Reale (1650 freestyle) each capturing individual MAC gold. The Falcons repeated the team achievement last season as Freeman (50 freestyle), Reale (1650 freestyle), and first-year swimmer Katie Wingert (200 freestyle, 200 IM) led the charge. Then, in 2016, Emily Reale captured the program's first-ever MAC Swimmer of the Year honor in leading Messiah to a conference-record 832 points to win a third-straight crown.
“I can’t put into words how great each year has been,” Luley said. “Our swimmers are really starting to see the payoffs for their hard work. There is no question we have exceeded expectations. We have begun to really compete at the conference level, and our improvement over two short seasons has been remarkable. I think everyone within the program is excited about the direction we are moving. We are going to continue to get better and better.”
Luley arrived to Messiah in 2008 after serving as the Mechanicsburg Area High School head boys’ and girls’ swimming coach for the previous two years, serving as Mechanicsburg’s varsity assistant coach for the eight years before that.
While her first collegiate coaching position, Luley made her presence felt immediately, garnering 16 men and 21 women to the team for the Falcons’ first season of competition. In year number two, Luley recruited Drew Wissler — the 2009-2010 MAC Rookie of the Year — and Dylan Holford, the program’s first-ever MAC Champion.
“I am honored to be chosen for this position,” Luley said upon her hiring. “It’s an amazing opportunity to start a program from scratch. I’m very excited to be part of the Messiah community. There aren’t many chances in life to start something from the ground up. I am excited for that challenge.”
Named the Carlisle Sentinel’s 2008 Swim Coach of the Year, Luley helped guide her Mechanicsburg girls’ team to an undefeated, 11-0 record in 2007-2008, leading her boys’ team to an 8-3 record overall. Mechanicsburg placed swimmers to PIAA State Competition in every year of Luley’s tenure as both a head and assistant coach, while she estimates an average of three to four swimmers went on to swim at the college level each year.
Luley jointly served as the head coach of the Mechanicsburg Swim Club for three years, a youth program for swimmers ages five to 19. Prior to taking over that club, Luley served as an assistant coach at the prestigious West Shore YMCA for five years.
Luley describes her coaching style as nurturing, with a strong emphasis on academics. During her tenure at Mechanicsburg High School, Luley’s teams maintained a steady presence on the honor roll. She is a lifetime member of the American Swim Coaches Association and National Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association.
“We need to make our name in the pool,” Luley said of her opportunity at Messiah. “I’m going to encourage kids to be leaders. It’s not often that you get a chance to establish something bigger than yourself. Usually you step into a program that already has a history. We have a chance to start a tradition here. And that is truly special.”
Luley graduated from Penn State University in 1977. She is married to her husband, Rich, and they have four children: Ben, Kate, Anne and Erin. Erin was one of Luley’s best swimmers at Mechanicsburg, placing third in 2006 in the 500-meter freestyle state championships and sixth in the 200-meter freestyle championships.