Courtesy of Kevin Pierce. Follow Kevin on SubStack here. Every weekday morning, I stand in front of a classroom filled with students learning about history, culture, and how the world works. Every afternoon, I’m on the pool deck, whistle in hand, guiding a group of teenagers through challenging practices designed to build speed, strength, and strategy. […]
Courtesy of Kevin Pierce. Follow Kevin on SubStack here.
Every weekday morning, I stand in front of a classroom filled with students learning about history, culture, and how the world works. Every afternoon, I’m on the pool deck, whistle in hand, guiding a group of teenagers through challenging practices designed to build speed, strength, and strategy. I’ve coached high school swimming long enough to know this for sure: some of the most important lessons our student-athletes will carry with them through life won’t come from a textbook or lecture—they’ll come from the water.
As a teacher, I believe in the power of education. But as a swim coach, I’ve come to believe just as strongly in the education of sport—especially a sport as uniquely demanding and transformative as swimming. There’s a hidden curriculum in every swim season, and it teaches things the classroom often can’t: resilience, discipline, teamwork, self-awareness, and leadership.
Let’s start with accountability. Swimming doesn’t allow for hiding. There’s no pass-fail group project or seat in the back of the room to quietly disappear into. When your name is next to a lane assignment, you’re the one diving in. Your time is your time. Your effort is your responsibility. And your progress, or lack thereof, is often publicly visible. The pool teaches young people what it means to own their performance. When they succeed, it’s theirs. When they fall short, that’s theirs too. In an age where finger-pointing and excuse-making are common, swimming offers a refreshing and powerful message: your results reflect your habits.
Then there’s consistency and discipline. The grind of a swim season is unlike anything else in high school sports. Early mornings. Two-a-days. Weekends sacrificed for invitationals and meets. Holidays spent at training camps instead of with friends. While other students might be sleeping in, swimmers are pushing through main sets, chasing intervals, logging yardage, and constantly striving for marginal gains. Over time, this lifestyle builds a mindset that’s hard to teach in a traditional classroom—one that embraces repetition, delayed gratification, and the value of process over outcome.
In the classroom, success is often about getting the right answer. But in swimming, success is built in the moments no one sees—the extra turns done at the end of practice, the stretching done at home, the decision to fuel properly or go to bed early. Swimmers learn that being great isn’t about talent alone. It’s about choices. Daily, intentional choices.
Swimming also teaches young people how to handle failure with grace and grit. A missed final, a DQ, a race that ends with added time instead of a best time—these aren’t abstract setbacks. They sting. And they often happen in front of teammates, parents, coaches, and even college scouts. But the water doesn’t judge. It offers every swimmer the chance to come back the next day and try again. That kind of environment builds resilience. Swimmers learn not just how to lose, but how to grow from loss. They learn that their identity isn’t tied to one swim or one meet, but to how they respond.
While swimming is often labeled an individual sport, the team element In summer andhigh school programs is transformative. Relays become bonding experiences. Pasta parties turn into therapy sessions. Group cheers, locker room chants, and travel meets all become part of a shared journey. The truth is, swimmers push themselves harder when they know their teammates are counting on them. They show up not just for their own improvement, but because they’ve made a commitment to something bigger than themselves. And when a team buys into that idea—that we is stronger than me—magic happens. Times drop, culture grows, and kids discover the beauty of belonging.
There’s also an incredible opportunity in swimming to develop leaders—not just in name, but in action. On our team, leadership isn’t reserved for the fastest swimmers or the ones with the biggest medals. It’s for the ones who live the standards every day. The ones who check in on a struggling teammate. The ones who model positivity during a grueling dryland session. The ones who lead not with ego, but with empathy.
I’ve seen swimmers who were quiet and reserved at the beginning of the season emerge as the heartbeat of our team by the end—not because they became state champions, but because they learned to lift others up. They learned that real leadership is about service, not spotlight. And they carried that lesson into student government, peer mentoring, and eventually, into college and careers where they continued to lead with authenticity and integrity.
Swimming also builds something else that’s hard to quantify but easy to see: mental toughness. There’s a special kind of fortitude required to train all year for a race that lasts less than a minute. Swimmers know what it feels like to fail publicly. To plateau. To be injured. To have a breakout meet followed by a disappointing one. They’ve learned how to talk themselves through doubt. How to control their breath when their heart is pounding. How to stay calm when everything’s on the line. That ability to self-regulate under pressure—call it poise, call it toughness—is a superpower in every other area of life.
Let’s also not overlook the emotional growth that comes from swimming. Swimmers cry. They laugh. They bond. They struggle. They support each other through wins, losses, breakups, rejections, and everything else high school throws at them. The deck becomes a safe space—a training ground not just for athletes, but for humans in progress. As coaches, we’re not just building swimmers. We’re helping shape people.
So yes, the classroom is important. It prepares students for tests, for essays, for college entrance requirements. But the pool? The pool prepares them for life.
In swimming, students learn how to navigate adversity, how to set goals, how to take ownership of their choices, how to lift others up, and how to keep showing up even when it’s hard. These are the lessons that turn students into leaders, teammates into lifelong friends, and swimmers into the kind of people who make waves—long after they hang up their goggles.
ABOUT KEVIN PIERCE
Kevin Pierce is a dedicated high school swim coach, leadership consultant, and advocate for athlete development. As the head coach of the Ridley High School boys’ swim team (Folsom, Pa), he has a passion for helping young swimmers reach their full potential, both in and out of the water. With years of experience in coaching, mentoring, and program development, Kevin specializes in leadership training, team culture, and athlete motivation.
Beyond the pool deck, Kevin is the founder of Green Mystique Leadership Consulting, where he works with youth and high school athletes to develop leadership skills that extend beyond sports. He is also the author of Leo The Lion’s Great Adventure, a children’s book that teaches leadership lessons through storytelling.
Kevin contributes to SwimSwam with insightful articles on high school swimming, leadership in sports, and strategies for fostering a winning team culture. His expertise in balancing athletic performance with leadership development makes him a valuable voice in the swimming community.
By Lisa S. Icenogle CASPER, Wyo. — A girls volleyball camp will take place at Casper College in the “Swede” Erickson Thunderbird Gymnasium, scheduled for June 9-11. The camp will feature three sessions under the direction of Angel Sharman, women’s head volleyball coach, and assistant coach Kelly Wiedemann. The first, from 10 a.m. to noon, […]
CASPER, Wyo. — A girls volleyball camp will take place at Casper College in the “Swede” Erickson Thunderbird Gymnasium, scheduled for June 9-11.
The camp will feature three sessions under the direction of Angel Sharman, women’s head volleyball coach, and assistant coach Kelly Wiedemann. The first, from 10 a.m. to noon, will be for third and fourth graders, followed by a camp for fifth and sixth graders from 1-3 p.m., and finally one for seventh through 10th graders from 3-5 p.m. Check-in is 30 minutes before each camp begins.
“Kelly and I are committed to giving all campers an enjoyable time at Casper College while teaching each one the skills and team aspect of the sport of volleyball,” said Sharman.
The camp fee is $80 per person, and each participant will receive a camp T-shirt. Walk-ins will not be accepted for a session that is full, so early registration is encouraged.
To register or for more information, people can contact athletics administrative assistant Robin Bisiar at 307-268-3000 or robin.bisiar@caspercollege.edu, or go here.
Blackfoot volleyball player Lilian Harper signs to become a Lady Monster
BLACKFOOT – Blackfoot’s Lilian Harper signed this week to play volleyball at Eastern Arizona College in Thatcher, Arizona. Harper was a 5A District 6 All-Conference honorable mention selection at outside/right side hitter. She led the Broncos with a 0.214 hitting percentage and was among team leaders in kills per set (2.7), blocks (56), and kills […]
BLACKFOOT – Blackfoot’s Lilian Harper signed this week to play volleyball at Eastern Arizona College in Thatcher, Arizona.
Harper was a 5A District 6 All-Conference honorable mention selection at outside/right side hitter.
She led the Broncos with a 0.214 hitting percentage and was among team leaders in kills per set (2.7), blocks (56), and kills (273).
The Eastern Arizona Lady Monsters advanced to the NJCAA Division I National Tournament last season and finished 23-12. They won the Region I Championship and the Rocky Mountain B District Championship to advance to the national tournament.
=htmlentities(get_the_title())?>%0D%0A%0D%0A=get_permalink()?>%0D%0A%0D%0A=htmlentities(‘For more stories like this one, be sure to visit https://www.eastidahonews.com/ for all of the latest news, community events and more.’)?>&subject=Check%20out%20this%20story%20from%20EastIdahoNews” class=”fa-stack jDialog”>
Volleyball Graduate Assistant in Pittsburg, KS for Pittsburg State University
Pittsburg State University is an accredited, comprehensive, state-supported institution in southeastern Kansas, enrolling approximately 7,200 students annually. The institution has Colleges in the fields of Arts and Sciences, Business, Education, and Technology. For more information see: http://www.pittstate.edu . Pittsburg has a population of approximately 19,000 residents and is located in southeast Kansas, about thirty miles […]
Pittsburg State University is an accredited, comprehensive, state-supported institution in southeastern Kansas, enrolling approximately 7,200 students annually. The institution has Colleges in the fields of Arts and Sciences, Business, Education, and Technology. For more information see: http://www.pittstate.edu . Pittsburg has a population of approximately 19,000 residents and is located in southeast Kansas, about thirty miles from Joplin, Missouri, which has a metropolitan area population of about 60,000 residents. Kansas City is located 120 miles north; Tulsa, Oklahoma is 125 miles southwest; Wichita is 160 miles west; and Springfield, Missouri is 95 miles east. For more information see: http://www.pittks.org .
UCLA Athletics Again Faces Hard Choices — Will History Repeat?
UCLA Athletics is once again at a pivotal crossroads Already burdened with a $219.5 million cumulative deficit over the past six fiscal years, and facing the looming financial obligations from the House v. NCAA settlement — which will require approximately $22 million annually in direct athlete compensation — the UCLA athletics department must now navigate […]
UCLA Athletics is once again at a pivotal crossroads
Already burdened with a $219.5 million cumulative deficit over the past six fiscal years, and facing the looming financial obligations from the House v. NCAA settlement — which will require approximately $22 million annually in direct athlete compensation — the UCLA athletics department must now navigate a fragile future for its non-revenue sports, including women’s swimming and diving and water polo.
History Echoes: UCLA Cut Men’s Swimming After a National Title
This moment evokes a painful chapter from UCLA’s past. Despite winning the 1982 NCAA Men’s Swimming and Diving championship and producing one of the fastest swimmers in the world, Robin Leamy, who set NCAA records in the 50-yard freestyle and won USA relay gold medals at the 1984 Olympics, UCLA famously cut its men’s swimming program in 1994.
Budget pressures and the need to comply with Title IX gender equity standards were cited. Yet the decision shocked the swimming world: how could one of the sport’s top programs — home to 22 Olympians — simply disappear?
Read the original LA Times coverage here.
“It didn’t matter that we had world records, Olympic medals, or NCAA titles,” one former swimmer recalled. “We were still cut because of the numbers.”
Today’s Success — and Today’s Risks
Fast forward to today, and the parallels are unsettling.
UCLA’s women’s water polo team is just a year removed from a perfect season by capturing the 2024 NCAA title. The women’s swimming and diving teams continue to produce NCAA qualifiers and Olympic hopefuls.
But success in the pool does not guarantee security outside of it.
Swimming World has reported on the financial challenges now facing collegiate aquatic sports:
Starting in the 2025–26 season, NCAA swimming teams will be capped at 30 athletes per gender, with some conferences proposing even stricter limits. Cuts and roster reductions have already begun nationwide, particularly for non-revenue sports like swimming and diving.
Big Ten Move Brings Hope — But Also Pressure
UCLA’s move to the Big Ten Conference is expected to provide a financial boost, with an estimated $75 million annually in new media rights revenue.
But this influx must cover soaring travel costs, new athlete compensation models, and the university’s existing debts. Athletic Director Martin Jarmond remains optimistic about sustaining Olympic sports — but history shows success alone doesn’t always save programs when budgets tighten.
The ghosts of 1994 are hovering again over Westwood. The question now is not whether UCLA can win championships — its aquatic programs already are. It’s whether that will be enough to preserve them in an era where spreadsheets, not scoreboards, often have the final say.
Story Links
PRINCETON, N.J. — The Columbia Outdoor Track & Field team returns to action this weekend at the Princeton Elite Meet in New Jersey. This is the final opportunity for student-athletes to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Prelims in two weeks. The competition will begin on Saturday at 11 […]
PRINCETON, N.J. — The Columbia Outdoor Track & Field team returns to action this weekend at the Princeton Elite Meet in New Jersey. This is the final opportunity for student-athletes to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Prelims in two weeks.
The competition will begin on Saturday at 11 a.m. at Weaver Stadium with the women’s javelin.
MEET INFO
For everything you need to know about the Princeton Elite Invitational, visit the event page on Princeton’s website, HERE.
Live results will also be available, HERE.
LAST TIME OUT
Last weekend, the Lions participated in the Outdoor Ivy League Heptagonal Championships.
Obiora Okeke made headlines, capturing the Shot Put Ivy League Championship with a historic toss.
In the finals on Sunday afternoon, Okeke launched a shot 20.17m, which set a new meet record as well as a program record to secure the Ivy League title. After also placing fourth in the discus with a mark of 52.21m and seventh in the hammer, Okeke was named the Most Outstanding Performer – Field of the Outdoor Championships.
Elsewhere, the Lions earned 14 medals including four silver and three bronze.
After Joshua Adams won the Lions’ first silver medal on Saturday in the long jump, Rory Clare claimed the team’s first silver on Sunday in the 1500m, clocking in at 4:25.64, just over a second off of first place.
Haydn Brotschi also took home a silver medal, taking second in the 400m with a time of 46.80, just under two tenths of a second away from gold.
The final silver medal came from the men’s 4×800 relay, consisting of Ben Bergey, Justin Gottlieb, Matt Gatune, and Jacob Van Orden. The team finished with a time of 7:23.90 to claim the medal.
The women’s 4×800 relay took home a bronze medal, as the squad of Isabella Shertzer, Clare, Grace Carr, and Lucy Henkel finished with a new program record time of 8:32.46.
The men’s and women’s 4×100 relays also each earned a bronze medal.
Full results from the Ivy League Indoor Heps can be found HERE.
ON DECK:
With the regular season wrapped up, attention will turn towards NCAAs, beginning with the Outdoor Prelims. For qualified student-athletes, the competition will begin on Wednesday, May 28 at 3 p.m. in Jacksonville, Florida.
Columbia’s schedule for the rest of the 2024-25 outdoor season can be found HERE.
Stay up to date on all things Columbia track & field by following the Lions on Twitter (@CULionsXCTF), Instagram (@culionsxctf) and on Facebook (@ColumbiaAthletics).
Four From Men’s Volleyball Named AVCA All-Americans in 2025
Story Links
Louisville, Ky. – May 15, 2025 – Four student-athletes from the Springfield College men’s volleyball team were honored with All-America accolades from the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) following the 2025 season that saw the Pride reach the national championship game in Salem, Virginia. Senior Chris Rouleau (Bay Shore, N.Y.) and Dylan Mulvaney […]
Louisville, Ky. – May 15, 2025 – Four student-athletes from the Springfield College men’s volleyball team were honored with All-America accolades from the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) following the 2025 season that saw the Pride reach the national championship game in Salem, Virginia.
Senior Chris Rouleau (Bay Shore, N.Y.) and Dylan Mulvaney (Reston, Va.) earned spots on the AVCA All-America First Team, while juniors Jake DesLauriers (Eastport, N.Y.) and Carter Durivage (East Greenbush, N.Y.) were placed on the AVCA All-America Second Team. This marks the third straight All-America selection for Mulvaney, the second for Rouleau and first for both DesLauriers and Durivage.
Mulvaney ranked second in the nation with 10.37 assists per set dishing out a total of 861 helpers and powered Springfield College to the second-best hitting percentage in the country at a .354 clip. The junior setter also registered 30 kills, 26 aces, 99 digs, 36 blocks and hit .418. IN addition to his third straight All-America award, Mulvaney was tabbed as the FrogJump Volleyball Division III National Setter of the Year.
Rouleau had the fourth highest hitting percentage in the country this season at a .474 clip. As one of Springfield’s most dominant middle, Rouleau registered 173 kills (2.22 per set) and totaled 61 blocks holding opponents to just a .174 hitting percentage.
DesLauriers made his transition from the baseball diamond to the volleyball court this season and made an immediate impact. The junior outside registered 204 kills (2.46 per set) and hit .359, which ranked 30th in Division III this year. DesLauriers also posted 40 aces and 116 digs (1.40 per set).
Durivage powered Springfield’s offense with a team-best 221 kills (3.16 per set) and his .369 on the season. The junior outside also totaled 27 blocks and 81 digs. Durivage’s .369 hitting percentage ranked 25th nationally, while his 3.80 points per set ranked 64th in Division III this season.
These four student-athletes led Springfield to 25 wins and back to the NCAA Division III National Championship match for the first time since 2022.
For the latest on Springfield College Athletics, follow the Pride on social media on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Be sure to tune into all Springfield College Athletic events by subscribing to FloSports.