Head swim coach Kurt Kirner won his fifth Great Midwest Athletic Conference Coach of the Year award in seven years on Feb. 15. The award is given to an outstanding coach during the G-MAC/Mountain East Conference championship meet each year. On the podium, alongside his assistant coach, Alissa Lufkin, ‘16, he pointed to his team across the pool.
“When I get a coach of the year award, a lot of it really has to do with how my team presents themselves,” Kirner said. “I don’t know if I’m doing that much differently than a lot of coaches out there, but it’s great when these things happen.”
The Chargers placed second in the G-MAC Championship with strong performances from seniors Elise Mason and Megan Clifford. Mason credited Kirner for his willingness to develop his athletes as people.
“Coach has worked with me over the past four years to be a better swimmer, but most importantly he wants each member of the team to grow in character and to represent Hillsdale well,” Mason said.
Kirner began his career as a swim coach in 1975 at his local swim club in Wisconsin when he was just 15 years old. He said he worked for free.
“Back in those days if it was something you loved doing, you did it,” Kirner said. “Now it’s my 50th year of coaching.”
Even after having coached for so long, he tries his best to keep in contact with his athletes. He said he likes to see where his swimmers end up and always appreciates their interest in his career as well.
“When I won last weekend I posted on Facebook. The first comment was from a former athlete that said ‘you’ll always be coach to us,’” Kirner said. “Just this week I wished one of my athletes a happy 57th birthday. So it’s been a remarkable journey.”
Kirner’s collegiate coaching career began at Lawrence University in 1991 in his home state of Wisconsin. He coached 16 seasons for the Vikings. Although he liked Lawrence, by 2006 he knew it was time for something different. He moved to Hillsdale in 2007 to take over the program for the Chargers. During the same year, John Tharp, who now serves as the director of athletics at Hillsdale College, moved from Lawrence University and became the men’s basketball head coach at Hillsdale. The two have remained good friends.
“Kurt is an amazing guy and a great coach, too. He cares about people, he cares about his swimmers and so he’s been a great colleague these past 31 years,” Tharp said. “This award is the sort of thing you like to see: good things happening to good people.”
In addition to coaching, Kirner also keeps a full load of classes each semester. He teaches sports psychology and said he’s able to put awards like this one into perspective with his experience.
“Coach of the Year breaks down into two components: how well can I motivate my athletes, and how well can I build the character of my athletes,” Kirner said. “Our opponents always notice how well the team carries itself and they appreciate the tenacity in the pool.”
Kirner said he tries to keep the program centered on faith and focused on the swimmers. He said his goal is to meet his swimmers where they are and implement strategies for success in and out of the pool.
“Positive psychology is set around the growth mindset, asking ‘how can I make people better,’” Kirner said. “From day one we try to build that into our image and our practice.”
Ultimately, Kirner said, Coach of the Year is about the swimmers and the college.
“Swimming is about competing with one another, not necessarily against one another, and it’s about building each other up in the process,” Kirner said. “The athletes have as much to do with that as I do.”
