BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — Chicago area water polo and aquatics pioneer Rob Lindgren passed away on Sunday, July 15, after battling pancreatic cancer since last November.
A longtime supporter of American Water Polo (AWP) in the Midwest, Lindgren started Hersey High School’s boys and girls water polo teams in 1998 and coached the girls team until 2008. For the last few years, he served as the Wheeling girls swimming head coach and was the Wildcats’ boys diving coach. He also served as the Hersey boys athletic director until 2009, when he took a position as a department head at Buffalo Grove High School. Lindgren also served as girls swimming coach at Hersey for a number of years, producing some great swimmers along the way.
Lindgren previously served as director of the WHAM Aquatics swim team for District 214 athletes.
He served on the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) advisory committee for girls water polo and was a longtime official for the IHSA.
He is survived by wife Jennifer, daughter’s Kathryn and Annette, son Robert and extended family. Funeral services have yet to be announced.