TC: How is the swim season going so far?
WC: Oh my gosh, the swim season is going really well. We have use of the Serra pool five days a week, we use the weight room twice a week, and we had our first meet on Saturday, and everybody improved their time. It’s been so far, so good.
TC: What are you looking forward to? Are there any special events you always enjoy?
WC: There’s one meet at Castelleja…we do a dinner at Town and Country, so that’s always fun. There are two new events that we’re going to be doing this year. One is I’m taking a group of swimmers down to Southern California to compete in the Catholic School Small Invites Invitational, so that will be fun.
TC: What has been your favorite part about being an NDB swim coach?
WC: My favorite part about being the head swim coach at Notre Dame has been watching swimmers start as fresh people and graduate seniors…to see them really become athletes is what makes me excited.
TC: As a coach, what do you hope to see at the end of the season for each of the girls?
WC: So my goal as a coach, from the coach’s standpoint, is that they improve their times. So, it’s an individual sport, but it’s also a team sport, so it’s kind of different than traditional team sports. You’re competing against your own time, and then you’re also competing in the pool against other swimmers, and then you’re earning points…my number one goal is just improve that time against yourself. Beyond that, the thing I love about our team is the bonding that we have and how we come together. When I look at other schools during meets, no one is cheering. People leave when they’re done with their events…we have the best cheer. We root our swimmers on, even if they’re coming in last, we are there yelling and screaming and clapping to the very last event.
TC: How do you keep the girls locked in and ready to practice or compete after long school days?
WC: That’s a hard question, because that is something that I think every coach struggles with, but we are struggling with that right now. Communication is key, so I always want to have open communication with the swimmers to make sure that they can come talk to me. I do plan fun activities, so we’ve done relays with watermelons and various food products…Every week there is a focus and there’s something fun to do as well. We had pizza after practice one day…you got to keep it interesting, engaging and fun.
TC: As an educator at NDB, what values from your classroom do you bring to the pool?
WC: Being a teacher has made me a better coach. I’ve seen people that are just coaches and then that aren’t teachers, and there is a difference. I can take a workout and chunk it out into manageable pieces, rather than just say “go swim 5000 yards”…I think allowing grace as a teacher also plays out with the swimmers, making it fun and engaging. It doesn’t have to be serious all the time, so I think it has definitely made me a stronger coach.
TC: How do you adapt your coaching style for different skill levels or different grades?
WC: In swimming, the lanes differentiate, so there are faster lanes. I’m not going to put a swimmer who is new to the sport or who’s more recreational, who hasn’t competed with seniors that have been doing this for four years, or that are club swimmers. So naturally, we go by ability levels and lanes, and so the faster swimmers have longer sets, faster times. There’s a higher expectation.
TC: With only one swim team, how do you make sure to balance competitiveness with having a positive team culture?
WC: I balance, I think, by setting high expectations, competing against yourself, making sure you show up to practices, putting out weekly emails that have ways of [having] a positive mindset, visualization…I think by being in a pool with other people that are taking it seriously has other people take it seriously. Those new, younger swimmers start changing over the course of the season to become serious swimmers.
TC: What are your goals for the team this season?
WC: My goal for the team is to beat [Mercy Burlingame High School]. My main goal is again, improving their own times, their personal times. If they’re new, they’ve already had this first meet, they’ve set their time, and they need to improve that. If they’re returning, they need to beat those times by having a positive mindset. We get so nervous…when you’re getting ready to get on the block during that first competition, learning skills to calm yourself, to focus, to visualize and to have faith in yourself that you know what to do based on practices and follow through, do that, because that’s going to play out in other parts of your life as well.
