The Memorable Life of Roy Sung

Roy Sung shaped lives in a unique and motivational way. Whether it was in the pool, on the deck, or outside swimming, Coach Roy inspired others to follow his lead. He was calm in a time of stress and always knew what to say in order to get an athlete ready to race. Roy was a role model for everyone around him and made his swimmers want to be just like him. Above all else Roy was a leader. He coached with authority and did what was best for his swimmers.

Roy has been a member of Shawmut Aquatics his entire life. He joined the team when he was ten and proved to be a strong component of the program. To this day Roy holds six Shawmut short course records along with eight in long course. Roy was a well rounded swimmer with strong times over a multitude of disciplines. His primary stroke was breaststroke in which he holds the Shawmut 200 breaststroke records and previously held the New England long course honor in this discipline. Roy also was a superb freestylist along with top awards in the IM's. Sung clocked in at 2:11.01 to nab the 11-12 boys 200 IM record in 2005. 

After Shawmut, and his graduation from Wayland High School, Roy attended college at both Villanova and Carnegie Mellon University. At Villanova, Sung majored in computer science and swam with the swim team both his freshman and sophomore year. As a freshman Sung qualified for the Big East Championships and piled up multiple victories at dual meets throughout the season. Roy led the Villanova breaststroke group for two years before transferring to Carnegie Mellon in order to major in Mathematics. Halfway through his Sophomore year Roy became one of the stars on the Tartan's well rounded program. In his inaugural season with Carnegie Mellon, Roy qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 400 IM with a time of 4:06.92. Then, the next year, Roy excelled at the UAA Championships posting the top times of his career in the 100 Breaststroke and 200 IM. While Roy's achievements in the pool are outstanding his personality on the deck or outside of swimming may be even more impressive.

After college Roy returned to the area around Wellesley, Massachusetts. There he was a software engineer for Cooper River Technology LLC. Along with his busy work schedule Roy came back to Shawmut to pass on the wisdom he had gained throughout his swim career to the next generation of athletes. Throughout his tenure as a Shawmut coach he ran practices for many different ages and skill levels. In addition, Roy would always be in charge of relays at meets.

Coach Roy showed levels of composure on deck that is hard to match. No matter the scenario Roy would always be able to keep his calm and make the next, best move. He acted in his swimmers best interests even if that meant sacrificing his own time or enjoyment. Finally there was nothing Roy loved more than coaching young athletes and helping them to achieve their goals. He poured every last bit of himself into making his swimmers the best they could be. We will all miss Roy but we will continue to carry on his legacy. Every time we hop into the pool, we remember the contributions that Roy has made to make the world a better place. The best way to honor Roy is by continuing to do what he loved, work hard every day and help others to get better at what they love.