John Joseph

Professor

“Kids tend to be really outspoken with their coach. So I know I’d hear about it if SMC wasn’t getting the job done.”

This year has been marked by some milestones for John Joseph. He will soon notch his 40th year as coach and athletic instructor at SMC. He recently attended his 50th high school reunion. And, he is proud to add, he and his wife—whom he refers to as “the absolute best”—are celebrating their 45th anniversary.

Milestones have tended to pile up largely unnoticed in the career of this man who has risen at 4:30 am and been at work an hour later “for as long as I can remember,” says Coach Joseph. “Being a coach is just something I always wanted to do. And I had the good luck to have some very fine teachers and coaches myself.”

There have been a lot of champion swimmers over the years as well, including All-American record holders Dan Rosenthal and Gordon Newman, SMCs Dean of Admissions.

Coach Joseph spent four years just after World War II at UCLA competing on their football and rugby teams while studying and raising two children. 1950 was the year he arrived at SMC. “I started out coaching the football team,” he remembers. “But that was a time when every coach had to work with two sports. So I started boning up on swimming.”

“I just love the association with young people,” he says. “Coming from a family of 13 kids, I guess it’s a natural environment for me.”

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