Robert P. Gonzalez joined BEST in 2023 and serves as head coach for the program. He also serves as the first head coach at William Carey University. He currently serves on the Mississippi Swimming Inc. Board of Directors.

Gonzalez has produced many swimmers who have won individual and relay state titles, state record holders, and Junior Nationals qualifying swimmers. He also served as a Mississippi Zones coach three times. He was awarded the Mississippi Swimming Inc. Senior Coach of the Year for the 2019-2020 season. He was named Coach of the Year by the National Federation of High School Sports for Mississippi in 2020 and the Mississippi Association of Coaches in 2019 and 2021. 

Gonzalez began swimming at age 4 and grew up in Mississippi Swimming. He was successful in the water setting multiple LSC records, earning the Most Outstanding Swimmer, and was a finalist for the Wendy's HS Heisman. He attended Mississippi State University where he started his coaching career with Shockwave.

Born in Thibodaux, Louisiana, Gonzalez grew up in Columbus, MS where his family moved to in 1989. He was a swimmer growing up competing for the Falcon Aquatic Swim Team, Mississippi Aquatic Dogfish, and the expansion Shockwave Aquatics progam when the team debuted in 2000. He has two sisters, Jessica and Stephanie, who were both state record holders in the pool as well. Stephanie currently is the head coach of Swim Columbus.

When not at the pool, Gonzalez is an avid sports fan and a lifelong, passionate Saints and LSU fan.

Club Coaching Experience: 

SWAT (Starkville branch):  Age Group 2005-2009   Head Coach 2009-2012

Delta Aquatic Club: 2012-2015

SWAT (Oxford branch): 2015-2023

BEST: 2023-current

Collegiate Experience:

William Carey University: 2023-current

High School Experience: 

Starkville: 2005-2007 & 2010-2012

Columbus: 2008-2009

Rosa Fort: 2013-2014

Oxford: 2015-2023

Education: 

B.S. in Education: (Mississippi State University, Dec. 2009)

M.S. in Anatomy & Physiology (Mississippi State University, May 2012) 

Ed. S. in School Administration (Mississippi State University, Dec. 2014)

Tanja has been working for the City of Biloxi Department of Parks and Recreation since 1999.  She started working as a lifeguard and eventually began coaching swimming for the City of Biloxi with many of it's different teams.  In 2010 she started coaching with the Biloxi Elite Swim Team.  She served as an assistant coach for the MS Zones Team in 2012 and 2013.  Tanja is an ASCA Level II Professional Competitive Swim Coach and an American Red Cross Water Safety Instructor.

She started her swimming career at the age of 11, swimming for the Steyr Swim team in her hometown of Steyr Austria.   She swam well enought to compete in the Childrens World Championship where she finished 8th in the 100 Breaststroke.  Tanja was selected for the 1980 Austrian Olympic Team in Breast Stroke.  Tanja also played water polo in Memmingen Germany and was  a member of the Life Saving/Life Guarding team where her team finished 2nd at the National level.