Sue Baross Nesbitt, is an American synchronized swimming champion and international coach. She is currently the head coach with the Riverside Aquettes in Riverside, California.
Swimming career
Sue Baross was a member of the Santa Clara Aquamaids when they won the first world team title in 1973 and swam with them while they were Senior National Team Champions in both indoor and outdoor from 1973 through 1977. In 1973, she was a member of the American team that won first place at the I World Aquatic Championships in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. 1974 was a busy year as she and Gail Johnson were Outdoor Senior National Duet Champions, as well as taking first at the I Pan Pacific in Honolulu and the All Japan Invitational. The Santa Clara Aquamaids, also took first at the Pan Pacific and the All Japan Invitational that year. She was Outdoor Junior National Solo Champion in 1975 and also swam with Team USA when they came in first both at the II World Aquatic Championships in Cali, Colombia, and the VII Pan American Games in Mexico City that same year. She was the U.S. senior national solo champion for Outdoor in 1976, going on to take both indoor and outdoor in 1977 while also taking the duet title with Linda Shelley, again for both indoor and outdoor. She went on to take the gold medal as a soloist at the Mexico City Pan Pacific Games of 1977 during which her team took first overall once more. At the 1977 Swiss Open in Bern, Switzerland, she won for solo and with Linda Shelley for duet while their team took first yet again. In all 4 years as a United States National Team Member, she received 14 International titles and 18 National titles, including 2 World championships. In 1977, she was a finalist for the James E. Sullivan Award for Amateur Athlete of the Year, while also receiving recognition as a member of the Women’s Sports FoundationHall of Fame and a member of the Citizens Savings Hall of Fame, the latter of which again inducted her the following year.
Riverside AQuettes
Along with sister Molly Baross, Sue Baross Nesbitt began synchronized swimming as a child with the Riverside AQuettes in Riverside, CA. When she first began swimming, the Riverside AQuettes practiced at the downtown YWCA building, now the Riverside Art Museum, which had been designed by Julia Morgan. When the building was sold, and the club lost their practice pool, her father organized with other parents to keep the group going. During her teen years, she swam with Riverside Polytechnic High School while they took three league championships. Sue Baross moved to Northern California after completing high school in order to gain better training under the guidance of coach Kay Vilen. There was some controversy at the time as Vilen's ability to attract the best swimmers from elsewhere quickly made the Santa Clara Aquamaids into the winningest club throughout the 1970s.
Coaching career
As a coach, Sue Nesbitt worked with the Canadian National Synchronized Swim Team throughout the 1980s. She also coached the 1984 Australian Olympic team, which competed in the Los Angeles games in the first year that Synchronized Swimming was included. She received recognition as Coach of the Year in Ontario, Canada, in 1983 and again in Nova Scotia, Canada, in 1989. In 1999 and again in 2002, Sue Nesbitt received recognition as Age Group Developmental coach of the Year for her work with the Riverside AQuettes. In 2012, she was inducted into the Riverside Sports Hall of Fame. While head coach at the Riverside AQuettes, the team won the 2006 national junior championship. As a strong proponent of healthy living, she encourages young swimmers to learn good nutrition, admonishing poor habits while avoiding body shaming. She dedicates long hours to preparing the team for competition despite huge turnovers among swimmers and junior coaches along with unbased rumors of bipolar disorder and narcissistic personality disorder. Oftentimes, she finds that junior coaches, while popular with the kids, are unable to teach basic and important skills such as standard and support sculls. More recently, she tried to step back from her position as head coach, but the board decided that it was not in the swimmers' best interest for her to work with them on a part-time basis. She remains ready to step back in should the board find the new head coach insufficiently prepared as she lacks job experience. In 2010, she coached the U.S. Junior National Team alongside Kim Wurzel-Lo Porto, member of the 2000 U.S. Olympic Team, and has worked as a consultant with the U.S. National Team since 1996.
Family
Her daughters Stephanie Nesbitt and Barb Nesbitt are also champion synchronized swimmers.
Television and film appearances
Sue Nesbitt has appeared as herself in the television series Switched in an episode featuring Brooke Abel and in the 2008 documentary Sync or Swim, which follows swimmers as they compete for a spot on the 2004 U.S. Olympic team.
