Triathletes Train with Seton Hall Coach

Seton Hall assistant swimming and diving coach Kevin Mullaney, 24, already had plenty of experience working with children and teens through his experience coaching Livingston's summer swim team, the Aquajets, but training adults was somewhat new to him.

"He never had 20 moms at once!" joked Sue Rexford, a South Orange resident who began training with Mullaney in May for a Danskin-sponsored triathlon she successfully completed in Sandy Hook on Sept. 13. She was part of a core group of 15 that attended some or all of three scheduled weekly practices at the main pool at Seton Hall's Walsh Gymnasium, though Mullaney has an e-mail list with 30 locals who've heard his coaching skills praised.

For most of the group—which has members from South Orange, Maplewood, West Orange and Glen Ridge, only one of whom is male—swimming a half-mile was the most daunting aspect of a triathlon, and many started the training without being able to swim or float.

"Thanks to Kevin, I was able to calm down and learn to swim and get across the pool without a heart attack," said Rexford, who added that swimming has also been beneficial for her back.

"We saw progress most immediately in the swimming, and it was the place we had the farthest to go," said Barbara Davis of South Orange, who added that the strides she made in swimming motivated her to work harder when she was training on her bike or jogging in preparation for the triathlon's 11-mile bike ride and 3.1-mile run.

Some training participants mentioned that they'd passed along their newfound enthusiasm for swimming to their children.

"Triathlon is now a word in their vocabulary, and they're 7 years, 8 years old," said South Orange resident Patricia Canning, whose children, along with Davis's children, are now taking lessons with Mullaney.

A graduate of Holy Cross University, where he was captain of the swim team his senior year, Mullaney already has a long coaching resume and says the experience of working with the triathletes reminded him of why he started swimming at age 11: the emphasis on being physically fit and the friendships that develop.

"In many ways, I enjoy this more than the competitive coaching," said Mullaney, who's working toward his MBA in finance at Seton Hall.

Mullaney's group will continue to train though the winter, though there won't be any more triathlons until next year after this weekend, when Paul Weissenberger of Glen Ridge competes in his first triathlon in Lebanon, N.J.

Ironically, Mullaney has yet to compete in a triathlon.

"Maybe I'll do it with you guys next year," he told the group.