AUSTIN, Texas -- University of Texas head women's track and field coach Bev Kearney announced Tuesday the hiring of Rose Brimmer, highly-successful scholastic coach at Westbury (TX) High School, as assistant coach of the Longhorns' track and field program.
Brimmer comes to UT from the Houston area where she has been a teacher and coach of track and field, cross country, basketball and volleyball at Westbury High School (in the Houston Independent School District- HISD) since 1986. Currently, she serves as the girls head track and field coach, and her Westbury squads won four consecutive Class 5A state championships (1997-2000) and placed third at the state meet in 1995 and 2003. Additionally, Westbury earned five straight regional crowns (1996-2000) and was regional runnerup in 1995, 2002 and 2003, and has claimed the last 11 district championships, dating back to 1993.
Brimmer's appointment begins immediately. Brimmer will accompany Kearney to the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials in Sacramento, Calif., which begin later this week. Brimmer, 47, will fill one of the two vacated UT women's track assistant coaching positions. Dana Boone, who concluded her fifth year at UT this spring, and three-year assistant John Hayes will be pursuing other employment opportunities at the conclusion of their contracts (August 31, 2004).
In addition to leading her Westbury squads to state prominence, Brimmer has helped develop scholastic national champions and All-Americans. Westbury's 4x100 meter relay squad gained national championship honors in 1998, and WHS' 4x200 relay was the national record-holder from 1998-2003. Brimmer has developed 14 high school All-Americans, including former UT All-America and NCAA champion Raasin McIntosh, who just completed her collegiate eligibility this spring. McIntosh and another of Brimmer's proteges, LSU sprinter Stephanie Durst, will be attending the Olympic Trials in Sacramento.
Under Brimmer's leadership, Westbury had five individual Texas state champions and seven relay champions since 1994. Sixty of Brimmer's Westbury student-athletes have gone on to compete in intercollegiate track and field, while nine of her seniors from the class of 2004 have signed national letters of intent or been offered scholarships for the 2004-05 academic year.
"In order to build a championship program, everyone in the program has to have a championship attitude, and that's what Rose Brimmer brings to our university," noted Kearney. "Rose comes to UT with tremendous experiences and tremendous successes. She is a well-rounded individual who passionately cares about her student-athletes. I've known Rose for a long time, and what most strikes me about her is how attuned she is to the importance of academics and to fostering a positive environment for her students and athletes to grow in. Her Westbury students have had great success in the classroom, on the volleyball court and on the track. Rose's integrity and work ethic is what we are trying to instill in all of our student-athletes here at UT."
"I am thrilled to accept this position at The University of Texas," noted Brimmer. "I honestly thought that I would retire from Westbury High School, which has been my 'home' for the last 19 years. I've had other college programs contact me in the past, but when The University of Texas contacted me about this opportunity, I was immediately interested. I've spent a lot of time at UT during the Texas state meets and at the Texas Relays. This university has everything in place for success, year in and year out, and great leaders and terrific student-athletes. I know I would not have left Westbury for any other college than Texas. This is a tremendous opportunity for me to work with a first-class university, to work with a coach like Bev Kearney who has built a program which competes each year for the national championship."
Among her coaching honors, Brimmer was tabbed 1998 Texas High School Track Coach of the Year, and since 1993, has been named District Coach of the Year 10 times and HISD Volleyball Coach of the Year six times. Additionally, Brimmer received a USA Track & Field Service Award in 1999.
In addition to her classroom work and coaching, Brimmer has served as a Westbury HS mentor for at-risk students, as a member of the athletics peer tutor program, and on the school's safety and school improvement committees.
Brimmer and her family, husband Leo Brimmer and daughter Bria, 14, have relocated to Pflugerville, outside of Austin. Brimmer's son, Brodney Pool, 20, is a sophomore at the University of Oklahoma and a defensive back on the Sooner football squad.
She is a 1981 graduate of the former Texas A&I University in Kingsville (now Texas A&M-Kingsville) with a degree in education. Captain of both the track and field and volleyball squads, Rose was the school's Female Athlete of the Year in 1981. She was inducted into the Texas A&I's Athletic Hall of Fame in 1989, along with former NFL great Darrell Green.
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