Helping Swimmers Become Better Swimmers

“I recognized the huge impact a swim coach has on a person. I saw it as a noble and positive profession.” - Iain McDonald    

By David Grossman

There are times when Iain McDonald must feel like he’s above the clouds. Some might say he’s in paradise.

That’s because of how he spends his days – thoroughly infatuated with his line of work.

Swimming has engulfed his life even when as a child in Lethbridge, Alberta, even when he was dreaming of being a National Hockey League goalie, even though he never played at the organized level.

“My mom had this fear of water, but still insisted on swim lessons for my older sister and me,” recalled McDonald. “My first day of lessons, I was nervous – even when asked to jump in to the water. Then, I was told to swim across the width of a 25-metre pool. There was fear and I struggled. Felt like it was like the Atlantic Ocean – but I did it.”

From just east of the Rocky Mountains to several communities in Ontario - Cobourg, Pickering, London, Clinton, Peterborough and now Ottawa – McDonald has been involved in swimming, mostly as a coach, mentor and educator. He has been on deck for competitions; the small ones right through to the glory of Canadian titles up for grabs. Now, he’s focussed in the area of high performance and working at Swimming Canada, currently as Senior Manager, NextGen High Performance Pathway, helping to guide Canada’s next group of high performance athletes. He does it using analytics, statistics, timing and more as it relates to the swimmers development.. It’s something that most likely wouldn’t have been possible without the grassroots start and the personal hype to excel.

For McDonald, each stop along the way, has had its special story. Whether it was recreation and formal racing or exercise and knowledge, it all encompassed achievement. Enamoured and captivated by so much to learn, McDonald simply admired the sport.

From those early years in Alberta, it was then off to Cobourg and swimming with the Port Hope Aquatic Club, something he thoroughly enjoyed. That led to a year with the Pickering Swim Club before it was time to on to the University of Western Ontario, where he earned a degree in Kinesiology, was captain of the swim team and where he solidified his future in coaching. He transitioned from swimming to coaching – and then more coaching, sharing his knowledge and yearning for more.

“My parents were always supportive, encouraged me to do what I enjoyed and I really took a liking to coaching and how important it was to individuals like me,” said McDonald. “I recognized the huge impact a swim coach has on a person. I saw it as a noble and positive profession.”

McDonald would get his first opportunity as a head coach in 1998 when the Huron Hurricanes Swim Club, a small club in Clinton, was looking for a replacement in the middle of the season. McDonald got the gig, the first step that got him started on a rewarding coaching career.

“I remember driving down the gravel road, the four-lane pool was in what appeared to be a community centre on an abandoned World War Two training base,” said McDonald. “I was excited and had an opportunity to implement what I had learned, to about 20 kids between the ages of 12 and 17. The kids were eager and I had to prove to myself that I could do what had to be done and show them that I cared.”

He later moved on to Trent Swim Club and Trent University in Peterborough, then the University of Ottawa (where he was chosen OUA Coach of the Year) and the Greater Ottawa Kingfish Swim Club, McDonald kept piling up the experience and loved what he was doing.

“It was an opportunity to be creative, to design a plan, implement it every day, interact and then make adjustments,” he said. “It was all focussed on helping swimmers become better swimmers.”

McDonald has now spent almost a decade with Swimming Canada in an important role providing leadership and advice on high performance, and overseeing a network of high performance centres.

“What I do is more than just race analysis feedback and talent identification,” said McDonald. “It’s a different aspect of swimming, about making things better, trying to create systems and programs for swimmers to be more successful.”

Looking for the next Canadian swimmer to climb the awards podium may be part of the overall plan, as he works with a team searching for success. When not confronted by a pandemic, McDonald would be on the road between 160 and 200 days a year travelling with teams, visiting with athletes and offering professional development for high performance coaching.

“All the coaching set me up for this job, the lessons you learn and trying to increase the probability of finding the right swimmers and then support them in many ways,” he said. “I always had the ambition to get where I am now. I always thought I could do it and know it’s all about taking the opportunities presented, working hard and doing what has to be done.”

When asked what’s next, McDonald said he’s never one to rule out a return to coaching.

David Grossman is a veteran award-winning Journalist, Broadcaster with some of   Canada’s major media, including the Toronto Star and SPORTSNET 590 THE FAN, and a Public Relations professional for 45+ years in Canadian sports and Government relations.