Ian Forlini enter his sixth season as Diving Coach in the 2025-26 season.
Forlini's formative years as an athlete came at Olney Ave. under the tutelage of La Salle's previous, longtime coach Steve Kuttruff; Forlini began diving there when he was 10 and remained throughout high school. His connection to the Blue & Gold is also deepened through family ties as his is older sister, Meghan, swam at La Salle from 2009-2013.
"I'm incredibly honored to come back to the place where I learned to dive to give knowledge and guidance from all my experiences in the diving world," Forlini says.
Those experiences began locally at William Tennent High School under the coaching of his mother, Lisa, in addition to Kuttruff's Centennial Diving, and quickly grew towards the larger stage. While coaching at the club level, Forlini set his sights on the SEC, attending Georgia in 2014. He quickly made an impact with the Bulldogs as a Second Team All-Conference honoree and All-Freshman Team member, earning bronze on the 1-meter at the SEC Championships.
Forlini would go on to feature often at Zone B Championships, qualifying twice for NCAA Championships throughout his time in Athens, Ga. He was a three-time SEC Diver of the Week and an All-American.
He completed his undergraduate degree with a bachelor's in business marketing in 2018 and then was elevated to graduate assistant/social media coordinator on Georgia's staff, learning to coach under two-time Olympian Chris Colwill.
Upon receiving his master's in kinesiology in 2020, Forlini decided to come full circle and return to the school that helped give him his start. For Malanina, the decision to bring in someone so familiar with La Salle was an easy one to make.
"We are very lucky and excited to welcome Ian back to La Salle. He brings incredible experience to our team after spending 6 years at the University of Georgia. With his intimate knowledge of La Salle and SEC-level diving experience, Ian will help our divers to search for excellence on and off the boards."
Forlini adds: "I am so excited to join the La Salle swimming and diving family! There are some tremendous student-athletes on the team, and I cannot be more thrilled to get to work with them, to help them achieve everything they want to! Go Explorers!"
