Jacobs fills pair of coaching vacancies

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Jacobs athletic director Tom Ross announced Thursday that Chris Taylor was hired as the Golden Eagles’ varsity wrestling coach and Tracy Balla would coach girls swimming.

Taylor has 15 years of head coaching experience, with 10 years at Workman High School in California, where he won five league titles and produced three state champions. His last head coaching position was at South Hill High School, also in California, where Taylor had 10 individual state champions over a five-year tenure.

“I look forward to the challenges that lie ahead and believe that hard work fixes everything,” Taylor said in a news release. “My motto for the new year is ‘tradition starts with me.’ I believe that and live that, and hope to instill it in my wrestlers.”

Balla swam competitively for several age-group programs in Mount Prospect and at Hersey, where she specialized in the two distance events – the 200- and 500-yard freestyle.

Balla began coaching in 1997 at River Trails Park District, where she became head coach in 2003, and moved to Hersey as an assistant coach for two seasons. Balla started assisting with St. Viator’s boys swimming team in 2004 and was the head coach of Schaumburg’s girls water polo team.

She has been an assistant boys water polo coach at Hersey for the past three seasons.