By Pen Fang and Grace Kaiser
The East Girls Swim Team started off the season with a new addition to the team: Coach Lindsay.
She is currently a junior at Buffalo State College, studying to become dual-certified in early childhood education and exceptional education with a bilingual extension in Spanish.
Her previous coaching experiences include a little over a year for the Town of Tonawanda Titans Swim Club, where she also started swimming when she was 12. She says, “I enjoy swimming as well as coaching because of all the friendships and relationships I have built along the way, as well as the lessons taught throughout the sport such as resilience, goal setting, realizing why a positive mental attitude is crucial, etc.”
And she brings these lessons to the team. She consistently encourages positivity and is encouraging and reassuring. Additionally, she has implemented a big/littles system, in which she pairs underclassmen on the team with an upperclassman so they can help and get to know each other. Every meet, each team of big/littles has had a bonding activity, and furthermore, bonding outside of swim has been encouraged with a points system for each thing done. Groups are encouraged to come up with their own activities to do together and take pictures for extra points. This promotes some fun and friendly competition in addition to fostering great friendships!
On top of bringing spirit and a positive attitude to the team, she also brings a focus on detail and dedication. Every day, she shows up to practice at least 15 minutes early to open the pool and get the team going so they’re ready to swim when the head coach gets there. Lindsay has also brought new stretches to the team’s dryland and stretching routines that she has found beneficial, which the team really enjoys. Lindsay has brought a whole new attitude, energy, and dedication to the East girls’ swim team.
She says that her favorite post-coaching/swimming food is “definitely chicken fingers because they are just so good.”
Lindsay also does track and field, but outside of sports, her hobbies are walking her dog, traveling, shopping, and spending time with her family. Her favorite movie is Miracle on Ice.
We are excited to continue the season with Lindsay!
