Accomplishments and record wise, Andrew Foos and his Madison Warhawks girls and boys swimming and diving teams have enjoyed vast achievements during his 14 seasons as the high-school team’s head coach.
There are multiple state, region and district championships, not to mention in the neighborhood of some 150 dual-meet victories. From 2017 to 2021, the Madison girls won four straight Class 6 state championships and won five region titles in a row.
In all, the program became one of the most successful in state history under the coach.
Foos now will pass the baton. He recently announced he is stepping down as Madison’s coach for various reasons.
“I loved the job and it was not an easy decision to leave,” said Foos, a full-time history and social-studies teacher at the school. “During my time as coach, I have always tried to keep the focus on the athletes and their accomplishments. They are the ones doing the work, and the ones that deserve the attention. The last few years have been particularly challenging for my family, and it is now time for me to focus my attention on supporting them.”
During his time as coach, Foos said he tried to build a program about more than just winning meets.
“The many championships we’ve won pale in comparison to the relationships we’ve formed along the way,” Foos said.
By getting to know the swimmers’ talents and personalities, Foos said that helped the Madison coaching staff best situate the swimmers in particular meets and events to succeed and maximize their performances.
“On our team, no individual was more important than the other. That’s the kind of program we tried to build at Madison,” Foos said.
A unique touch Foos provided was writing summaries of each meet, including names of many swimmers and divers, that he e-mailed to team members, past and present, families and the media that same evening of the competition.
“That was a lot of work, but it was something we wanted to do,” Foos said.
NOTE: While Madison’s coach, Foos’ girls teams won six district, five region and four state championships. The past two seasons, the girls finished third and fourth in the state, with a second in the region this winter. The Madison boys under Foos won six district crowns and two region titles and had four second-lace finishes in the state.