Authors:
Mike Koleber, Owner/Coach: Nitro Swimming
Mike Murray, Athletic Director, The Albany Academy; Coach, Sharks Swim Club
In our sport, success is too often defined by medals, records, and championships. Those accomplishments matter, and we celebrate them. But if we are honest about the work we do as coaches, they are not what lasts. The most meaningful impact of coaching reveals itself years
later, in conversations with former swimmers who are now well into their adult lives. They rarely bring up a practice set, a stroke adjustment, or a race strategy. Instead, they talk about resilience, discipline, humility, or the lessons we spoke about when the stopwatch wasn’t running. This, we believe, is the real measure of coaching.
A coaches’ meeting at Nitro Swimming brought this truth into sharper focus. Mike Koleber asked his staff to write down on a post-it note the single most important lesson they had learned from one of their own coaches. Once written, the notes were sorted into two piles: technical lessons about the sport and broader lessons about life. The non-technical pile dwarfed the technical one.
That simple exercise carried a profound message. Even for people who have dedicated their lives to coaching, what stayed with them was not a drill, a set, or a correction about hand position. It was the way a coach made them feel, the standards they were held to, or the belief
instilled in them. The fact that the “life pile” far outnumbered the “swimming pile” should remind us all: our greatest contribution is not the technical knowledge we pass on, but the values and perspective we help athletes build.
This perspective reframes what it means to coach. Yes, we are responsible for designing training plans, teaching mechanics, and preparing athletes for competition. But at its core, coaching is mentorship. The pool is the classroom, and the lessons reach far beyond the sport.
Stroke mechanics may win a race, but character development prepares an athlete for life.
As coaches, we see it time and again: medals tarnish, records fall, and championships eventually blur into the past. What endures is how an athlete learned to show up consistently, to support teammates, to face setbacks, and to carry themselves with dignity. When former
swimmers call years later to tell us that lessons about perseverance or accountability helped them navigate a challenge at work or in their families, that is the true legacy of our profession.
Recognizing this truth requires us to expand how we define success. Technical mastery remains essential, athletes cannot thrive in sport without it. But it is not sufficient to measure a coach’s impact. True success comes when athletes leave our programs as resilient, thoughtful, and engaged human beings. It comes when they carry with them habits of discipline, empathy for
others, and confidence in themselves.
This does not diminish the pursuit of excellence in the pool. Rather, it situates athletic performance within a broader framework. Winning races and setting records are meaningful milestones, but they are part of a larger process. The real achievement is shaping people who
will contribute positively in whatever arenas they enter after their swimming careers have ended.
The Nitro exercise makes clear that athletes experience their coaches less as technicians and more as mentors. What they remember are the values modeled, the standards upheld, and the conversations that stretched beyond the sport. For us, this is both humbling and empowering. It means that every interaction, on deck, in the office, or after practice, has the potential to be remembered years later. That is the responsibility and privilege of coaching.
The legacy of coaching is not captured on a scoreboard or in a record book. It is written in the lives of the athletes who leave the pool better prepared for the challenges ahead. When coaches embrace this broader mission, they fulfill the deepest potential of their role. We believe
that is what makes coaching one of the most rewarding professions: the knowledge that our influence endures far beyond the water.
About the Authors:
Mike Koleber is the owner and founder of Nitro Swimming, one of the largest and most successful swim programs in the United States. His leadership has focused on creating sustainable environments where swimmers thrive athletically while developing life skills beyond
the pool. He has served USA Swimming and the American Swimming Coaches Association in multiple leadership roles.
Mike Murray serves as Athletic Director at The Albany Academy, is a Board Member of the American Swimming Coaches Association and Victor Swim Club, and also coaches with the Sharks Swim Club in New York’s Capital District. His career spans coaching, teaching, and
athletic administration, with an emphasis on using athletics as a vehicle for character development, resilience, and lifelong engagement.
“Great coaching isn’t defined by the X’s and O’s, but by uncovering the whys and teaching the hows, because that’s where growth, trust, and true understanding thrive.”
-Mike Koleber
Read the full story on SwimSwam: Beyond Performance: The Enduring Lessons of Coaching in Competitive Swimming
