Stanek Completes Inaugural USA Swimming Women Coaches in Governance Fellowship

Texas A&M’s Assistant Women’s Swimming Coach Caroline Maxvill Stanek was one of 66 coaches to have the opportunity to complete the USA Swimming Women Coaches in Governance Program. The group of women coaches was the first to have completed the course that is all about educating and empowering women coaches in swimming, while also building a strong community.

Stanek started her swimming career as a state champion and Olympic Trial Qualifier. The Dallas, Texas, native was a four-year letterwinner at Texas A&M and assisted the Aggies in winning two Big 12 Titles in 2008 and 2010. Stanek became a graduate assistant at TCU and an assistant coach at Miami and LSU before returning to Aggieland in August of 2021. 

The USA Swimming Women Coaches in Governance strives to unite women who can help drive the sport to inclusivity and promote leadership in swimming. Despite women coaches setting the framework as the largest non-athlete registered demographic group in USA Swimming, females have the least representation in higher-level positions. Within the Local Swimming Committee boards, only 36 out of 121 General Chairs and Admin Vice Chairs positions are held by women, according to USA Swimming’s database (SWIM) at the time the Governance Program began.

Stanek sits down to recap her time throughout the course to discuss what she learned and how it is growing her career as a women’s swim coach while also empowering her mindset.

What piqued your interest in completing the USA Swimming Women Swim Coaches in Governance Program?

“We got emails from USA Swimming about this new program and the opportunity to empower women’s swim coaches in the community. A lot of things they talked about in the class were career growth development, being the only female in the room, why they need women in governance and head coach experience. So, that was what piqued my interest when I saw the topics that they were going to cover. I filled out the application and was able to be a part of it.”

How long was this program?

“About a dozen Zoom meetings and trainings from September to April until our in-person meeting in April.”

What were your key takeaways from completing this workshop?

“I learned that I am lucky in the community of coaches I have, but a lot of women coaches around the country don’t always have that same community of people to lean on or feel supported by. That was one of the key takeaways because as women, whether it’s in the sport of swimming or athletics, we need that community because our experiences may be different than a male coach or other coaches. I also took a sense of confidence and empowerment.”

How did this boost your confidence or feeling of belonging as a women’s swimming coach?

“We spoke about different experiences that we’ve had and learned how to handle situations. They taught us about different aspects of governance that have happened within non-profits or organizations that you’ll be a part of in the sport. It just taught me to find my voice, be empowered and be confident in what I’m doing. A lot of times coaches, men or women, don’t speak out if they feel a certain way. But this workshop taught me to do that with the knowledge that they put for each weekly structure with all the topics we discussed. Coming out of it, I feel more empowered in my ideas that could help our team, other coaches or just our sport in general improve.

What did the structure of the course look like?

“They had three pillars of the program. It was to educate, build confidence and make a community. My mindset is: you get confidence from education. They were able to touch upon governance in a deeper sense like, why governance is important and why women need to be in the room. Business 101 was one of the topics covered because maybe people have never run their own teams and had to make a budget. It was a nice opportunity to get together with another group of coaches and talk about all those topics in a swimming sense.”

What does it mean to you, having completed this achievement?

“It was awesome to be in Colorado last week in a room full of women coaches. We were the first, inaugural class to go through it which is exciting to be paving the way for that. You kind of take it for granted just living your day-to-day in this job. Everyone loves it and everyone does it, but then you realize that there’s a need for empowerment for female coaches in our sport. To be a part of that was something I was really honored to be selected and even considered for the program by our governing body here in Gulf Swimming. To have completed it and been in a room with amazing women who are super accomplished coaches was pretty cool. I know that we are paving the way for the next group of women to come through to learn and experience that. It is going to create a really great community where people have that network and fellowship.”

How will you share what you learned with other coaches and/or in coaching other swimmers?

“A lot of it has to do with being able to spot what you can improve and change. That is what governance is mainly about: how can we continue to grow and improve our sport? It taught me how to have an eye for constant improvement and change as I go through different phases of being a coach. I have a lot more knowledge and with that comes confidence. One of the key things is being able to see and spot what problems might arise day-to-day or at swim meets and reflecting on how it affects other levels. The key is being connected with college and club, it’s all ultimately the same with the end goal of successful swimming. That’s something I can take away and use. I can see things in a different light, a more analytical way and a more solution-driven way.”

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