Ct Swim Coach Earns Top 45 Rank from USA Swimming

Those who have been fortunate enough to be coached by Betsy Matheney are not surprised that she is one of the top age group coaches in the United States. Now USA Swimming has recognized her talents when they invited her and the other 44 top age group coaches to the National Age Group Summit (NAGS) this November. Swim 70’s Betsy Matheney was the only coach from Connecticut to receive this invitation and honor. “I may have been the one to go to NAGS, but really it was my swimmers that put me there,” Matheney modestly said, “I gave them the tools to succeed, but they were the ones doing the achieving at our championship meets in Connecticut and across the country.”

Coach Matheney was in fine company when she presented her creative practice ideas for young swimmers. Age group coaches from the developmental swim clubs of Olympians like Michael Phelps and Katie Ledecky were able to hear her ideas on to make practices fun, creative and effective for swimmers aged 14 and under. Any swimmer who has played Betsy Ball or went to a Wacky Wednesday Workout knows how much fun they are, but few realize how impactful they are to improving their swimming. You can enjoy her presentation too by viewing it here.

Matheney was an All-American swimmer at University of Alabama and a member of two American record setting relays. After graduating from Alabama, she went on to teach physical education at her high school alma mater, Pine Crest, in Florida. It isn’t surprising that she feels teaching is the foundation to her coaching. “I think all coaching is basically teaching; that’s what I do, I teach first and then I coach. When you study physical education everyone thinks it’s just games and it’s not. There’s learning kinesiology, physiology, anatomy, how things move, the physics of things, etc. I think I had a really good background in that. My background, growing up with swimming, and the top level coaches I’ve had, have all meshed into my philosophy on how I do things.”

While she has coached some very talented athletes, including a swimmer currently ranked number one in the country, parents claim that some of the best skills she teaches their children have nothing to do with swim techniques. “Betsy taught my kids to be gracious winners and losers. She also has demonstrated to them that their hard work pays off and that details matter. Betsy demands not only excellence in the water but out of it too, and she does it in a fun and interesting way for her team. Quite simply, her swimmers and their parents adore her,” stated Swim 70 swim parent Whitney Lenoce. So it isn’t surprising that she is still in contact with her swimmers from as long as twenty years ago.

Coach Matheney is based in Norwalk at the two-year-old swim club, Swim 70. In this short time, the team has achieved tremendous success with several top 20 nationally ranked relays and Swim 70 winning 2016 CT Age Group Championships during short course season. Head Coach Mark Sedlak believes that Matheney gives swimmers a solid foundation, “The vast majority of my senior swimmers had Betsy as their age group coach and it shows. Her swimmers all have a great work ethic, solid technical skills and, most importantly, have fun and success in the pool.” The Swim Seventy Aquacenter hosted a Norwalk’s high school girls’ swim team meet against Fairfield Ludlowe’s team. “Many of those high school girls were coached by Betsy and they all rushed over to give her hugs,” claimed Sedlak, “She has a strong bond with her swimmers that goes on long after she actively coaches them.”

For more information about the Swim 70 competitive team, contact coaches Betsy Matheney or Mark Sedlak. For information on swim lessons and the Swim Seventy Aquacenter, call 203-202-8081. www.swimseventy.com

Image L to R Betsy Matheney, Rian Hermann of Westport, Michael Cowenhoven and Emmett Adams both of Fairfield, and Sean Rogers of Westport