USA Swimming
During the spring of 2022, John Butcher, Director of Competitive Swimming for Chargers Aquatics, attended an American Swimming Coaches Association (ASCA) Clinic in Austin, Texas. At the clinic, Carol Capitani and Mitch Dalton, head coach, and associate head coach of the University of Texas women’s swimming team, respectively, discussed working on their athletes’ self-confidence at the University of Texas.
“It was a big lightbulb moment for me that we needed to be more proactive with our athletes,” Butcher said. “I want to see our athletes use swimming as a conduit for personal growth beyond just their performances in the pool, though those are obviously of high importance to our club, as well.”
Butcher started sending out surveys to his athletes to better understand the swimmers as whole people – how their bodies felt each week, how much sleep they were getting, and where they were from a mental and emotional perspective.
“Coach Butcher went the extra mile in connecting and executing in real-time,” Leland Brown III, USA Swimming’s Program Director for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), added. “He’s the ideal example of activating and utilizing DEI as a coach. His athlete surveys give him deeper insights on who and where his athletes are daily.” Read more here.
