Sean Raffile coached the 2008-09 Western Illinois swimming teams in his first and only year with the program. Even though Raffile's time was brief, the teams were successful in and out of the pool under his guidance.
Raffile was named The Summit League's 2009 Women's Coach of the Year,
guiding the Westerwinds to a second-place finish at the conference
championships. Two swimmers won events at the meet while a total of 13
earned all-conference awards. A pair of divers competed in the NCAA
Zone Championships and three swimmers qualified for USA Swimming's
Short Course Nationals. In addition, 95 percent of the squad achieved
lifetime bests, 12 school records were broken, two new Brophy Pool
marks were set, and 20 other performances ranked among the school's
all-time top-10 list. In the classroom, the men's team achieved a 2.96
grade point average and the women recorded a 3.24 team GPA.
Raffile brought seven years of coaching experience to Western Illinois University, four of which come from Division I institutions. In three seasons as head coach at Wagner College, his teams posted an overall record of 22-15, a .595 winning percentage, and a conference record of 10-3. He also coached a total of 30 all-conference athletes in only three seasons. While at Wagner, he also served as the university’s director of aquatics and the director of the Wagner Aquatic Club.
Last season, his team finished third at the Northeast Conference swimming and diving championship. During the 2006-07 season, he coached the NEC 100 butterfly title winner who also qualified for the U.S. Open Championships in the 100 and 200 butterfly events. At the end of the 2005-06 season, his team had set eight different school records.
At the conclusion of the 2006-07 season, his team finished with a 3.51 grade point average. The GPA earned the team the sixth highest GPA in the nation for swimming and diving. At the end of this season, Raffile had a swimmer named first-team academic all-district by ESPN the Magazine/CoSIDA. This past season, his squad earned a 3.53 GPA, the sixth highest in the nation in swimming and diving.
Before coaching at Wagner, Raffile served as a volunteer assistant swimming coach at the University of Georgia during the 2004-05 season under Jack Bauerle, the head coach for the 2008 USA Olympic women’s team. As an assistant at Georgia, his duties included on-deck coaching, meet management and recruiting. Raffile helped lead the 2005 Bulldog team to a NCAA team championship. While in Athens, Ga., he also spent time as an assistant coach for the Athens Bulldogs Swim Club and for the Bauerle Bulldog Swim Camp.
Prior to Georgia, he had assistant coaching experience at West Chester University (Pa.), Germantown Academy Aquatic Club. Raffile had the privilege of coaching with legendary head coach Richard Shoulberg, an assistant coach for the 1988, 1992 and 2000 USA Olympic women's teams.
Raffile started his coaching career as a student assistant swimming coach at his alma mater, Southern Connecticut State University. As a student, he was a six-time NCAA All-American and completed a bachelor’s of science degree in exercise science in 2003. He is currently finishing a master’s degree in kinesiology from Georgia.
Raffile is an active member of the American Swim Coaches Association and the National Strength and Conditioning Association. He is also a certified strength and conditioning specialist, first aid certified and a certified pool operator.
