Former Huskies swimmers Robb Rotramel ’13 and Amber (Alexander) Rotramel ’12 got used to taking orders and advice from Coach Jeff Hegle ’93 in their four years at St. Cloud State.
They didn’t hesitate this September when he told them to love one another and promise to stick together in good times and bad.
The couple stood before Hegle as he officiated their wedding in Spearfish, South Dakota.
“He’s just a person we wanted to be a part of our special day,” Amber said.
While the choice of officiant was obvious to Robb and Amber, it was a surprise to the wedding guests.
Hegle was sitting among the guests when he walked up to lead the wedding.
He talked about how his grandparents have been married for more than 50 years and how Robb and Amber remind him of that long-lived couple.
“He did so good throughout the whole thing,” Amber said. “He made it personal.”
Robb and Amber met in 2008 as freshmen on the swim team. They both lived in Shoemaker Hall and swam together. They began dating in 2009.
“He’s just been a big part of our lives through being our coach,” Amber said. “He grew into being our friend.”
The coach has an open-door policy where students can come in and take a seat in his red chair and just talk to him.
Hegle is more than a coach to his swimmers. He becomes a friend and mentor. He supports them and watches them fall in love, Amber said.
College is a time when people are moving into adulthood and need that mentor, and Hegle takes care of his swimmers through that transition, Robb said.
“Jeff brought us into our adult phase and got us ready for the adult portion of our lives,” he said.
Hegle cares about his swimmers as people. He supports them through their ups and downs and in their academics, Amber said.
Hegle said he was honored by the request.
“Not many people can share a moment like that with two people,” he said.
Hegle is invited to half a dozen weddings of his former swimmers each summer. He’s never received an invitation like the one from Robb and Amber.
He wasn’t the only former swimmer with a role in the wedding. More than half the couple’s wedding party were former Huskies swimmers who also stood up with the bride and groom.
“It felt like our family was there,” Amber said. “When you swim together for so many years, you become like a family. It was great to have all of us together again.”
