From swimmer to coach: Maddie Logan guides the Creekview Junior Grizzlies鈥� debut season
CANTON, Ga. — In her first year as Head Coach for the Junior Grizzlies Swim team, Maddie Logan reflects on the memories made and lessons learned during the team鈥檚 inaugural season. 鈥淐oaching these amazing athletes this season has taught me that effort and attitude matter more than results at meets,鈥� she shares. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e worked so hard, stayed positive, and been open to learning all season long. Our inaugural season wouldn鈥檛 have been the same without their smiles every day. I鈥檓 so proud of every single one of them!鈥�
Maddie began swimming in the 4th grade, competing with neighborhood summer swim teams and throughout the school year for club teams including Swim Atlanta and the YMCA. She went on to swim for the Creekview Varsity Swim team for all four years of her high school career.
Passing on a mindset that was engrained in her as a young swimmer, Maddie now encourages her athletes to put forth consistent high-quality effort in practice. She learns a lot about each athlete based on the effort that they give in practice and says, 鈥淲hen swimmers come to practice ready to work hard and give their best, it makes all the difference.鈥�
At the end of each practice, the team holds a brief skills clinic where they focus specifically on techniques such as dives, starts, and finishes into the wall. Focusing on these individual skills helps swimmers gain efficiency in the water as they improve each technique.
With the team consisting of 7th and 8th graders who are preparing to move up to high school, she focuses less on how much they drop or gain (in time), and more on what they did to get there and how much they desire to continue growing.
The Junior Invitational in December, which was also their very first meet of the season, was especially memorable as they were the host team which created an exciting atmosphere鈥攁nd not only did many of the athletes achieve personal best times, but the Junior Grizzlies emerged with the overall team win!
Her proudest coaching moment this season was when one swimmer, who had never competed before, swam her first 50-yard freestyle race and dropped 7 seconds from her season-start time. She recalls, 鈥淗er positive attitude, hard work, and determination led her to that moment. I was so extremely proud of her!鈥�
After a tough race, Maddie leans into her own experience as a swimmer to remind them that one race does not define them as an athlete. She helps shift their focus to point out something that they did well and then set their next goal to work toward. And then she works with them at practice to improve on any area that they feel contributed to the challenging race with a mission to turn disappointment into a learning experience.
Looking back at the end of her first season as coach, Maddie hopes that her swimmers remember her as a coach who challenged them to work hard both in and out of the water and helped them to believe in themselves. 鈥淚 want them to know how capable they are and how much they can achieve when they put forth their best effort,鈥� she shares. 鈥淎t the same time, I never want them to forget the joy of being in the water with their teammates. Above all, I hope this sport remains something they continue to grow in and love for years to come.鈥�
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