Enfield Swimming Legend Directs CCSU to Second Straight Championship

One of the top swimmers in Enfield history has carved a niche for himself in the coaching ranks over the past two decades. On Saturday, another championship was added to his Hall of Fame resume.

Bill Ball, a 1983 Fermi High School graduate and 1999 inductee of the Enfield Athletic Hall of Fame, guided the Central Connecticut State University women’s swimming and diving team to its second straight Northeast Conference championship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology pool in Wellesley, Mass.

The Blue Devils tallied 797 points to easily outdistance Wagner’s 727, and in the process, delivered the fourth NEC championship of Ball’s 13-year tenure.

“I couldn’t be more proud of this team,” Ball said on the CCSU Athletic Department’s web site. “They put in the time, effort and hard work necessary to win their second straight title, and it showed tonight. We knew coming into Saturday night what we had to do, and we did it. Just an all-around complete effort by every one of these team members.”

Success is nothing new to Ball. He was a three-time CCIL champion in the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard breaststroke at Fermi, and set many longstanding school records.

A two-time New England champion and NCAA qualifier at Southern Connecticut State University, he was named an NCAA Division II All-American after finishing sixth in the 100-yard breaststroke at the 1987 NCAA Championships.

As a coach, Ball has been selected to helm elite training camps at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, as well as in Connecticut.

Photo courtesy of CCSU Athletics