Dan Waterland joined the Harvard Men’s Swimming and Diving coaching staff as an assistant coach in Oct. 2023. The 2024-25 campaign will mark his second with the Crimson.
In his first year on staff at Harvard, Waterland helped the 2023-24 Crimson win its seventh straight Ivy League title. En route to another conference crown, Harvard recorded 21 All-Ivy honors, including 14 first-team nods. Waterland also mentored two Crimson athletes to NCAA berths, including Will Grant '24, who secured Academic All-America accolades.
A four-year swimmer at Bates College, Waterland arrived at Blodgett Pool with coaching experience along the Eastern Seaboard. Waterland began his coaching career in Wilmington, Delaware, at Greenville Country Club, serving as an assistant coach for its club team for two years.
During the summer of 2021 and 2022, Waterland utilized his coaching experience to help at Falling Creek Camp in Zirconia, North Carolina, where he served as a people manager, activity leader and cabin counselor. While in The Tar Heel State, Waterland mentored staff and campers, and developed a curriculum for Falling Creek’s swimming program.
Waterland landed in Boston in the summer of 2023, joining Technique Swim Academy as a coach, instructing individuals ages 9-16 of varying skill levels in proper swimming techniques, water safety and confidence-building in the water. He also collaborated with other coaches and college swimmers to create lesson plans based on an individual’s goals and abilities.
A 2022 graduate of Bates, Waterland was a four-year NESCAC conference-meet team member and one of the top swimmers in program history. He holds the No. 3 performance in the 200 back and the fourth-fastest 100-back time in Bates history. Waterland earned his bachelor’s degree in politics in May 2022, and is currently working toward his master’s degree in management studies at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business.
