Nick Beach has gone from being the top diver in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) for back-to-back years to coaching some of the top divers in the conference at Alfred State College.

Beach was part of the first team at Alfred State to compete in the AMCC. In his two years competing on both the 1m and 3m board, he dove to AMCC Diver of the Year honors twice. He also established Alfred State NCAA era records on both boards and for both the 6-dive and 11-dive formats.

After getting his associate’s degree in Heavy Equipment Operations, Beach went straight to the work but did not stray too far from the diving board. Beach returned to Alfred State the following season as the diving coach, and has been instrumental in the continued success of the program.

Since he joined the staff, he has coached four AMCC Divers of the Year. He has coached Austin Miller the past four seasons. Miller, a two-time AMCC Diver of the Year, has broken his coaches Alfred State records and became the first Pioneer to qualify for the NCAA Diving Regional. His work with the women’s diving team helped Alfred State to the 2020 AMCC Championship.

The four divers on the 2021-22 squad look to carry on the tradition started by their coach.

The Then and Now Series is part of the AMCC's 25th anniversary where the conference will be recognizing current AMCC coaches and/or athletic administrators who are former AMCC student-athletes. The Then and Series will run every Tuesday throughout the academic year.