All-American Swimmers Take to the Deck in the ODAC

By Nelson Helm, Swimming World College Intern

The Old Dominion Athletic Conference has its share of swimming firepower.

Four teams, Washington and Lee men and women’s teams, Emory and Henry and Randolph-Macon men’s team, have all been ranked nationally this season. The stories of these swimmers appear all over local and national publications.

But what about the coaches who are behind the teams? What are their stories?

Three coaches in the ODAC conference were former All-American swimmers at their respective colleges, each with a different story of how they began coaching and what motivated them.

The Alumna

Sweet Briar head coach Donna Hodgert is one of the former All-Americans now in the coaching ranks of the conference. Hodgert’s story is a little different than the rest, as she returned to the coaching this year to take the helm at her former alma mater.

While at Sweet Briar in the late 1980s, Hodgert made NCAAs twice, once individually in 1988 in the 200 fly and once in 1986 in the 400 medley relay. Hodgert swam the butterfly leg of the 400 medley relay which garnered All-American recognition.

“As a swimmer, I like to push myself in training to see how far I could go in terms of my physical limitations,” she said. “I liked to feel spent after a practice because I had put my full effort into the training session.”

Hodgert did not find the calling to coach right away. She first had dreams of working for the CIA.

“In pursuing that dream and taking entry level jobs, I found I had to spend a lot of time sitting at a desk and I hated it,” Hodgert said. “I hated being inside a building and not having the opportunity to move around and be outside.”

When she had her “first real job,” Hodgert’s friend was coaching summer league and she jumped at the opportunity to become an assistant coach.

“By the time summer rolled around I could not stand being inside on nice days,” she said. “My salary for the summer would be less than what I was making in my office job in a week, but I took the offer to coach.”

The Sweet Briar alum took a long route to her return to her former school. She had a coaching stint at Randolph-Macon Women’s College (now Randolph College) from 1997-2008, serving as their part-time head coach.

“At the time, the job was part-time and it worked perfect for me because I was raising two children,” she said. “It was perfect, the athletic administration at RWMC was very supportive of a working mom.”

Hodgert took a seven-year hiatus from coaching because of “financial reasons” associated with being a part-time coach. She remained in the area, though, working as a physical education teacher and athletic administrator at a local day school.

“I had to start planning for my children’s college education and that involved a full-time salary,” she said. “It was my dream job and I had built a solid program at RWMC, however it was part-time and the school was not sure if and when it would ever hire a full-time coach.”

Seven years later, the head coaching position at Sweet Briar was vacant. Hodgert said she is a firm believer in the “philosophy that everything happens for a reason.” Hodgert said that she thinks it is “crazy” to think of herself coaching where she used to swim.

“Never in my wildest dreams would I think I would be at Sweet Briar coaching,” she said. “I think coaching at Sweet Briar will be good for me at this time in my life and I hope I will bring something to Sweet Briar swimming.”

Hodgert said that she “believes in the school,” and with her status of an alumna, she is able to sell the school better than most other coaches.

“I feel very sincere when I tell recruits that this place is special, and it will be a good thing for them to be part of it for the next four years,” she said.

“I know that being part of the team will help them grow into confident adults and they will have memories of relationships and challenged that will be with them forever.”

The Former NCAA Swimmer of the Year

If you grew up in the late 1980s and early 1990s, odds are you have heard of Washington and Lee head coach Kami Gardner, then Kami Mathews.

The former Kenyon standout was an All-American in 27 events, winning 14 relays and three individual titles. All things culminated in 1991 (her senior year), when she was awarded NCAA Swimmer of the Year.

Gardner said she was set on swimming in college at an early age and began the search process early in her high school career. A native of Troy, Ohio, Gardner was reluctant to visit Kenyon, but her parents wanted her to focus on academics instead of swimming. Once she stepped on the campus, however, she fell in love.

Two years passed and Gardner was a senior in high school. As a former Olympic Trial qualifier who had the chance of making the 1986 World Championship team, Gardner took all Division I recruiting trips. She even went as far as accepting a scholarship, but that was not what she wanted.

“My parents promised me one year at Kenyon,” she said. “I was very fortunate for the sacrifices they made so that I could have the experience that I wanted. I didn’t want it to be about swimming anymore. I wanted it to be my choice.”

Aside from the few plaques that hang inside of her office, Gardner doesn’t dwell on her swimming career. One moment, however, will stay with her for the rest of her life.

Gardner’s junior year, the race for the national title was supposed to be close (“we needed every single point,” she said) and the Kenyon 200 medley relay team was having issues with exchanges. As a result, Gardner, who normally wasn’t on morning relays, was put on the relay squad. The relay was disqualified.

“I have a picture of it in my mind,” she said. “I remember that my hands were in a prayer and I was just looking at my coach. “

As the final session that day rolled around, Gardner’s coach, the legendary Jim Steen, huddled the girls together.

“And as they were announcing the teams in each lane, he said “In lane four and a half, Kenyon,’” she said.

Steen continued with the exercise and began telling the team commentary of the race, telling the girls to visualize their leg of the event. Leg by leg, the coach gave each girl something that they didn’t do well on and had them rebound from it. For Gardner, it was her turns.

“At that moment, I was like ‘Sweet! I nailed it!’”

The team was in such a moment that they didn’t notice that St. Olaf had beaten UCSD, who Kenyon was fighting point for point with. Gardner called this moment one that she will never forget for the rest of her life.

“I am grateful for my coach for taking a moment that could have changed an entire meet and giving us back the power to decide and determine our own fates.

“At that moment, I thought what an impact this man has had on twelve women and how I wanted to somehow do that in my life,” Gardner said. “I didn’t know I wanted to be a coach, but I knew I wanted to impact people like that.”

The Young Gun

The final All-American of the group is the youngest by a wide margin— she just graduated from the University of Richmond in 2013. Randolph-Macon Assistant Coach Lauren Hines is also the only former female NCAA Division I swimmer-turned-coach in the ODAC.

Hines grew up in Lynchburg, Va., not far from where she would end up going to college. When it was time to make the college decision, Hines wanted a place that would have a balance between athletics and academics.

“While I knew I wanted to be part of a swim team in college,” she said, “I also wanted to find a place where I could be successful outside of the pool. In the end, I found a perfect fit at Richmond.”

After a successful four years as a Spider, where Hines became an All-American in the 100 backstroke in 2012, she shifted her focus to the coaching side of the sport because she felt she wanted to give back to the sport.

“Swimming has helped me to work through the good and the bad times,” she said. “I want to be a part of a sport where memories are made on a daily basis.”

Not far removed from the college swimming scene, Hines had difficulty earning the respect of her swimmers at the beginning.

“They had trouble separating my swimming career from my role as a coach,” she said.

Now in her second year, she finds that being a coach is much easier than it was at the beginning.

“While it has taken some time to gain a level of respect and understanding as a coach on the team, I feel like the swimmers are starting to realize if I push them, it is because I believe in them, not because my expectations are unrealistic.”

Along with being an assistant swim coach, Hines also is a full-time teacher at a middle school in the area. However different coaching and teaching may be, she still has one goal- trying to keep the focus on her kids and helping them be successful.

“They are at the age where it is important that they develop confidence in their ability to be academically successful,” she said. “I feel like my experience with swimming, coaching, and teaching are all constantly intertwined. Each one presents new challenges weekly and produces different success stories.”

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