Berkley Swim Duo Headed Out of Town

For the first time since 2002, the girls swimming and diving team will be getting a new coach.

Head coach Ashley Seidl and her husband, Todd Seidl, the team’s assistant coach, have turned in their whistles and are headed out of state.

The husband-and-wife coaching team and pair of Berkley grads is leaving because Todd Seidl has taken a position as a chief watch commander with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Reston, VA – about 20 miles outside of Washington, DC.

“It’s been hard,” Ashley Seidl said. “It’s definitely emotional. We both get emotional when we think about it at times, but excited for the opportunity. It’s very bittersweet.”

Even though the news is not shocking to those in the swimming community, it is still a bitter pill to swallow.

“Our season will be very different next year without them, but I am working with the other captains to recruit new members to our team and to make the season as fun as possible,” said junior Nicole Buccalo, who has been selected to serve as a team co-captain next season. “Todd and Ashley have created many wonderful traditions for our team that we will carry on next year.”

Ashley Seidl will continue teaching at through the rest of the academic year, but plans to find her replacement on the pool deck are already in the works.

“Ashley is a fun, caring and motivating person, and I know she will be missed by every single girl on our team,” Nicole said. “We knew during the season that there was a good chance our coaches wouldn't be returning, but it is still very shocking.” 

Berkley Athletic Director Ron Kane is in the process of hiring his third varsity coach since taking over in late September. He’s also had to replace coaches for the football and baseball teams.

Candidates for the girls swimming team are being reviewed.

“We are looking for someone who will continue the excellence that our swim program has had under the leadership of Ashley and Todd Seidl,” Kane said. “They have been outstanding coaches and role models for the student-athletes at Berkley High School. Our expectations are that this will continue, even under new leadership.”

Since Todd Seidl ran the district’s co-ed middle school swim program that competes in the winter, Kane also will be responsible for finding a new coach for that team. But Kane’s top priority is to get a girls varsity coach situated first.

Todd Seidl launched the middle school program in 2005 and saw a record number of more than 50 participants hit the water in November. It served as a solid feeder program for the varsity team.

“Our middle school program has increased the number of participants, so I feel strongly that we must continue this program,” Kane said.

The Seidls' decision to leave their alma mater and move their two young daughters out of town was not easy.

The couple is emotionally attached to the Berkley program.

Todd Seidl was a member of the boys swimming team and graduated in 1997. He returned as a coach from the 2004-05 to 2007-08 seasons.

Ashley Seidl was a member of the girls swim team and graduated in 1998. She became the school’s head varsity coach in 2002 after swimming for and graduating from the University of Illinois.

She took the job because the school’s athletic director at the time was unable to find a qualified coach and was about to shut down the program.

Her willingness to give back to the program she once swam for helped the Bears win Oakland Activities Association titles in 2006 and 2007. She won league Coach of the Year honors in 2006, 2007 and 2010.

It’s been quite a turnaround.

When the Seidls began coaching the girls squad, they had one team member break the 28-second barrier in the 50-yard freestyle at the league meet – a big accomplishment at the time. They didn’t have a single state qualifier.

During the past six seasons, all three relays have made state qualifying cuts to compete in the Michigan High School Athletic Association championships, and Berkley even boasted an individual all-state swimmer.

Berkley also went from competing in the lowest level of the OAA to climbing the ranks in order to be challenged by perennial state powerhouses in Oakland County.

After spending the past nine seasons building the Berkley team from the bottom up to a consistent OAA title contender, Ashley Seidl has no plans to return to the pool deck once she moves east.

She said her top priority in the upcoming months will be to get her family settled and find a preschool for her oldest daughter, Grace, who will be 4 in April. Once those goals are accomplished, Seidl will begin looking for a teaching job.

“It’s nice to end it with having the good memories of having a last great season with a great group of people,” she said. “I kind of don’t want to tarnish that.”