OCVarsity Voice: O.C. swimming loses a good one with Coach Perry

Much of my professional life right now is about speed.

How fast did Edison's Kierstin Colesen go tonight in the 50-yard freestyle? She beat Cindy Tran and Alyssa Tran?

Yes, I enjoy covering Orange County's many talented swimmers each spring and summer. But for just a moment, I want to slow down and remember.

I want to remember a coach whom I really enjoyed knowing a little.

The man is Kevin Perry. He was a club guy. He coached Fullerton-based F.A.S.T. at Independence Park.

He passed away last week at the much-too-young age of 56. In the end, prostate cancer got him and it must have been horrible.

I learned of his situation only a few days before he passed away.

Kevin had learned of his cancer last summer, his friend Lynn Rogers shared with me. But up to four weeks before his death, he was still on the pool deck coaching.

"Tough guy," Rogers said.

Most good aquatics coach are.

The news of Kevin's health stung quickly. He was a good guy and I'm sad he won't be around for me to talk to.

I got to know Kevin through my coverage of high school swimming. In an effort to give our readers the best aquatics coverage possible, I began many years ago to contact more club coaches to gain more knowledge about the athletes.

I called Kevin on the phone at first, and then I started seeing him at the club meets I was covering. Over the years, we became friendly.

At many swim meets, there often is downtime between the top-notch action. Prelims, for example, can be slow.

Kevin was one guy I really enjoyed talking to during the downtime. He would talk candidly about his swimmers and the sport.

I liked him because he had a good sense of humor. He really cared about the sport and he wasn't afraid to say stuff.

Kevin was real. He proudly wore his San Francisco Giants baseball caps to meets. When a lot of coaches were in shorts, he'd been in jeans.

Kevin was just his own guy and seemed to love life and what he was doing. You could tell he didn't want to be anywhere else. It showed in his deck demeanor. He'd really coach hard at meets.

And make no mistake, it was paying off in several ways.

For one, his club was becoming more competitive, but doing it the right way. It wasn't overnight, but at some point, FAST became legit again.

When I first started the swim beat, the scene was pretty much the Irvine NOVAs and Mission Viejo Nadadores, and no one else.

Over the years, I noted that two of Perry's best swimmers - Louis Vayo of Troy and Tyler Clary of Riverside Poly -  didn't swim their senior seasons, instead opting to train with Kevin.

It certainly was unusual and big news. Vayo could have been the county swimmer of the year for his high school season.

Rarely have club swimmers not raced during high school. Janet Evans, Amanda Beard, Kaitlin Sandeno, Aaron Peirsol, Michael Cavic - they all represented their high schools.

I reported the news on Vayo and Clary at the time and moved on. Plenty of other great kids to cover.

But since Kevin death, I have heard several stories about Kevin. Now, the decisions of Vayo and Clary make perfect sense.

Kevin had very strong bonds with his swimmers. I can see now why they probably didn't want to leave his workouts.

He was that amazing of a coach and a man.

Rest in peace, coach.

Contact the writer: dalbano@ocregister.com