Franklin & Marshall’s Division III swim season kicks off later than most other fall sports—about three weeks behind. But just two weeks before long pool practices were set to begin, the team’s head coach resigned. For the past week, F&M’s swimmers have been left without a coach, even as the season quickly approaches. I spoke with senior women’s captains Emily Albert and Riley Reader on hear how they believe this will impact their season.
1. Give us a brief synopsis of how you heard that your coach is resigning:
We heard the news from Coach Joe at what we thought was a beginning of season meeting. We assumed we were going to be discussing what the season was going to look like this year. Instead of this Joe walked on to the pool deck looking quite anxious. He then told us he has received a job offer and his last day was going to be September 12th. He continued to read from a paper telling us that he will still be here for us but this decision was made with the best interest of his family in mind. It was incredibly shocking for everyone and honestly an awkward meeting.
2. How has his resignation affected your season so far?
The season has not officially started yet, but looking ahead I hope it will not have too much of an impact. The biggest thing has been keeping morale high and trying to make sure especially the freshman feel supported during this time of transition. Most of the upperclassmen took the news much better than the freshman so just trying to keep things positive going into the season is important. Most of the time, coaching switches don’t occur this close to the season starting so that is concerning with the season, but we have a lot of faith in our assistant and volunteer coaches.
3. How do you see his resignation affecting your future season?
In the short term, I think it will be a pretty big adjustment especially until we get a new head coach, but looking long term I think it will be good for the program. Having fresh energy to reinvigorate the program will be extremely beneficial for both the men’s and women’s team. F&M has a lot to offer academically and athletically and we hope that the next head coach will be able to continue this tradition.
4. Do you think his resignation could positively affect or negatively affect the team?
I think his resignation could positively affect the team because we will all become closer. I think Coach Joe is a great person but change can be good! A new coach can bring new training and a different perspective. This could be a great thing that makes us all better swimmers.
Senior Catherine Welch is a Contributing Writer. Her email is cwelch2@fandm.edu.