It Takes A Village

Written By: Caitlin Hamilton

As the age old saying goes “it takes a village to raise a child.” Well, I like to tell families of recruits on calls and visits that the same thing applies for “raising” a student-athlete. Creating a strong support system was intentional and far from a happy accident when I stepped into a head coaching role. As I begin my third season at Illinois State University, I’m proud of what we are building and who we are building it with. From my coaching staff, to support staff and everyone who has been a part of this journey from the start, we’ve got a pretty darn good village.

I have the uncommon opportunity to be a young female Head Coach of a Division 1 program. Adding to this, I am doing so in the town that I grew up in, on the campus I went to elementary school on, surrounded by people who I have known my entire life. Opportunities to leave IU for head coaching positions came quickly after both our men and women won Big Tens in 2019 and our men placed top 3 at NCAAs back-to-back years. At Purdue, Wyoming, IUPUI and IU I had worked with people from all different backgrounds and paths into the coaching world. I was learning about and from a variety of different ideologies and techniques. I was also getting lessons in building relationships with athletes and people. Some days it felt like trial and error, but there was one constant piece at each program I was at. The success and overall enjoyment were centered around the people involved.

When I made the decision to leave IU and take the Head Coaching job at Illinois State, I wanted to be somewhere I felt a connection to. I needed something lasting and a place I felt supported as I took on this grand adventure. I had my family close, plus I also had an athletic department of people I trusted. I was determined to surround myself with good people, find ones that challenged my view of the world (and sport) for the better, then let good things happen.

I’ve gone through the hiring process numerous times since June of 2019. I brought a trusted assistant with me to kickstart the team and supported him as he decided to step away from coaching to focus on his family. That sent me into a hiring frenzy. Add a new assistant and a couple of diving coaches, plus a new athletic director, academic coordinator, athletic trainers, and strength coaches, you can say it’s been busy. However, this is the world of mid-major sports. Good people get noticed and offered new opportunities. Throughout all these searches I have learned and now fall back on three main aspects.

First, take your time. Athletics is fast paced, and the timing of a new hire never seems to be ideal. It becomes easy to slip into the thought of “I just need someone in here to help me.” I remind myself that these people are about to join into my swimming family. I spend more time with them than pretty much anyone else and I want to make sure that they share similar core values. I can teach recruiting or administrative tasks, but how they treat people and their passion for the sport is much harder to train. It's worth getting right.

Next, trust your mentors and connections. Each hire I have made to my direct staff I’ve reached out to people I trusted asking for help. I knew the skills I needed and the type of coach I wanted, but I needed help connecting with people looking to make a move. Not only has this been a great way to build my coaching network, but I also get to catch up with people I enjoy learning from. Leaning on these people helps me know good people are applying into open roles. My current staff is young, intelligent, and talented. Most importantly they came highly recommended from people I’ve worked with or gotten to know over the last few years. As you build your village, go back, and connect with the ones already established in it. I don’t think you’ll regret it.

Finally, involve your team. I’ll be honest I haven’t always done this. As I was making my first hire completely over Zoom during COVID I felt like I needed all the help I could get. After hearing a group of athletes ask candidates questions, it made me realize what was important to them in a new coach. I had a swimmer ask each candidate what their mantra for life was. I learned so much in that moment about both the candidate and team. I’m not saying they have final say, but I value their opinions and trust their needs. I’ve also noticed that when the team is involved, there is a sense of excitement when a new hire is named. It’s their village too. You’ve taken the time to recruit these athletes into the program, give them some sense of ownership in the future as well.

Change is inevitable, especially in the realm of athletics. Before going through the hiring process for your program, set a foundation of qualities that you want to always have a part of your village. Doing so creates a foundation and a sense of consistency even when roles may change. Utilizing these three aspects alongside our three team core values has helped me. Build your village, surround yourself with great people and good things are bound to happen.

In two at the helm, Hamilton helped guide the Redbirds to an improved fourth-place finish at the Missouri Valley Conference Championships in 2020. This was followed by a fourth-place finish in a shortened 2021 season. Hamilton coached Kierston Farley-Sepe who became the program's first MVC Swimmer of the Year since 2004. As well as Emily Keebler who was presented the Elite 17 Award in 2020 for her perfect 4.0 GPA and silver medal in the 400-yard IM. Over the last two seasons the Redbirds have seen growth in and out of the water with numerous all-conference performers and a consistent top tier team GPA. Hamilton comes to Illinois State after completing her second season on the Indiana coaching staff, serving as an assistant swimming coach for both the Indiana men’s and women’s teams. For the first time in school history, both the men's and women's swimming and diving teams won the Big Ten team titles in 2018-19. The men's squad won the championship for the third-straight year, while the women's team won its first Big Ten team crown since 2011. Both teams were dominant at the league championships, with the men's team winning a total of total of 24 medals – 13 gold, six silver and five bronze - and the women's team winning a total of 14 medals – seven gold, one silver and six bronze. At the NCAA Championships, Hamilton helped guide the men's team to back-to-back top-3 finishes for the first time in 44 years. The Hoosier men finished in third place, winning four NCAA Championships (Vini Lanza, 100 fly; Ian Finnerty, 100 breast; Andrew Capobianco, 3-meter; 400 medley relay) for the second-straight year. Over the course of the NCAA Championships, the Hoosiers had 13 individuals earn a total of 38 All-America honors. Olympic gold medalist Lilly King highlighted the women's team's accomplishments at the 2019 NCAA Championships, becoming the first woman in NCAA history to win eight breaststroke titles, completing her four-year sweep of the 100 and 200 breaststrokes. As a team, Indiana placed ninth overall, earning the program's fifth-straight top-10 finish and 10th top-10 performance in school history at the NCAA Championships. Hamilton came to Indiana from IUPUI, where she served as an assistant coach for both the men’s and women’s teams, as well as the recruiting coordinator for the women’s team. In 2017, Hamilton helped recruit the highest-ranked class in program history, with the men’s team ranked nationally. During her two years with the Jaguars, the team set 37 team records, posted six NCAA B time achievements and had two CSCAA Academic All-American teams. Previous to IUPUI, Hamilton worked at Wyoming as an assistant coach of the combined program. While at Wyoming, she coached the mid-distance, distance and individual medley swimmers. During her tenure, the Cowboys finished third at the Western Athletic Conference Championships (M) and fourth at the Mountain West Conference Championships (W). Overall finishing the year with one NCAA qualifier, four Conference Champions, and eight NCAA B Cuts. In the previous season, she worked as an undergraduate assistant coach for Purdue. With the Boilers, Hamilton worked mainly with the mid-distance freestyle and individual medley swimmers. The swimmers ended the season with a 25th place finish at NCAAs from seven swimmers qualifying. The Boilermakers also had a seventh place finish at the Big Ten Championships that year with two program and two freshman records broken. Hamilton also had roles in the Purdue athletic department as an intern for Purdue's Athletic Development Department, the John Purdue Club. As a student-athlete at Purdue, Hamilton earned All-America honors in the 1,650 freestyle during the 2009-10 season. She also earned Honorable Mention All-America honors the following season. She was a two-time Second-Team All-Big Ten and three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection. On the national scene, Hamilton was a two-time Olympic Trials qualifier in the 400 and 800-meter freestyle events. Hamilton graduated from Purdue in the spring of 2014 with degrees in Movement and Sport Science and Public Health. In the spring of 2017, she graduated with a Masters of Kinesiology from Indiana.