BREAKING: LHS' Tom Hudson announces retirement
Jun. 12—LARAMIE — Longtime, popular and highly successful swimming coach Tom Hudson announced his retirement from coaching at Laramie High in a letter sent Saturday afternoon for many of his email contacts, including WyoSports.
The letter was dated June 11, 2022, addressed "To My Laramie High Swimming and Diving Family," and got right to the point with the first sentence of "This is a difficult letter to write."
Hudson has been a part of the Plainsmen and Lady Plainsmen swimming and diving programs for 34 years, and head coach for 32 of those years — 63 seasons with 32 for the boys and 31 for the girls. His dual record was 843 wins, 124 losses and five ties.
Nearly all of his boys and girls teams would finish in the top three at the state championships with 17 of those as runner-up and 21 of those as state champions to go with 31 conference championships.
"While I am excited about the next chapter in my life, I will truly miss teaching and coaching at LHS," Hudson said in his letter. "My coaching career has been one of the great pleasures of my life, and I am grateful to have worked with so many incredible athletes, coaching colleagues, parents, and officials over the years. While I have put so much of my life into this aquatic family, I have gotten so much more out of it. You all have brought me immeasurable joy."
Hudson's catalog of national, regional, state and local accolades and accomplishments is immense, including reaching the highest honor in the nation last spring when he was inducted in the National Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association of America's Hall of Fame.
"I know that our programs will thrive in the coming years," Hudson continued. "I hope that the relationship between club teams and our school teams will stay strong, our athletes will continue to support each other, and our team traditions will carry on. I am certain that I am leaving you in great hands with the remaining coaching staff, but you can be sure that I will always support the program and each of you."
A follow-up feature story will be published next week in the Laramie Boomerang and WyoSports website.
David Watson is the WyoSports assistant editor. He can be reached at dwatson@wyosports.net or 307-755-3327. Follow him on Twitter at @dwatsonsports.
