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By David Rieder and Brent Rutemiller.
It wasn’t some grand vision for what could be that convinced Tim Hinchey to leave his post as President of the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer to become CEO of USA Swimming. He just knew he wanted to give something back to a sport he had been passionate about his entire life.
“It was a great surprise to be called,” Hinchey said. “When I started getting my head around it, it’s the one sport I’d probably leave for. It’s not just about the professional opportunity—it’s about giving back to something that’s really helped me in the last 40 years.”
He had never worked in swimming before, and his professional background certainly qualifies him as an outsider. Hinchey has held positions with NBA and NHL teams and with the English Football League before his current role with the Rapids.
But he swam growing up, he swam in college at UC-Irvine and continues to attend Masters workouts several times per week.
“I was a very mediocre college distance swimmer, but I worked hard and enjoyed every minute of it,” he said.
Hinchey is plenty familiar with swimming, but that does not mean he comes in assuming he has all the answers. After all, USA Swimming continues to boom thanks to the work of the late Chuck Wielgus, and Hinchey has no plans to interfere with that, at least not for the for foreseeable future.
First and foremost, he wants to learn and to listen.
“I want to go on the largest listening tour possible here in the next few months,” he said. “I need to get out and familiarize myself with the volunteer structure and the coaching communities, get back and understand where we really are in terms of athlete development,” he said. “With Mike Unger and his experience, the rest of the technical group in Colorado Springs, I’m there to listen.”
Unger filled in for the cancer-stricken Wielgus on multiple occasions over the past decade and has served as interim CEO of USA Swimming since Wielgus passed away April 23. At times considered a favorite for the permanent CEO post, Unger will remain committed to USA Swimming as Assistant Executive Director.
“He’s done an incredible job in his capacity, and I’m thrilled he’s agreed to stay around to partner with me to continue to grow the sport,” Hinchey said.
Even after appointing Hinchey to the organization’s No. 1 post, USA Swimming still has one more key top-level post to fill, finding a successor to Frank Busch as National Team Director. As per USA Swimming’s power structure, whoever takes over that position will report to Hinchey, but he has full trust in those who have run the selection process so far to make the correct choice.
“Certainly, I’d like to meet the (National Team Director) candidates and get a sense if they’re on board with our culture and our expectations. But as it relates to the actual selection and making those decisions, I think there’s a reason we have such great people down there who are on the wet side.”
When it comes to exactly how he might lead the efforts to grow the sport, Hinchey sees plenty of parallels to his work with the Rapids to grow the sport of soccer.
Under Hinchey, the Rapids had focused on educating young players about the game and teaching them to enjoy the game, encouraging players of all ages to keep playing “one more year.”
“The longer we have them in the sport, the longer they’re around the sport, the more they enjoy the sport, the more likely that they’re going to be fans of the professional game, their kids and siblings and friends to continue to participate, to take it to whatever level they’re interested in,” he said.
“Like Olympic swimmers, their chances are very low to become elite athletes, so for us it’s about growing the good of the sport.”
Less than two weeks after Hinchey starts at USA Swimming, he will head to Budapest to watch 50 of the country’s best swimmers represent his organization at the World Championships.
Coincidentally, even before USA Swimming arranged his trip, he already had a swimming-related trip to Europe planned for late July—scheduled, in fact, for the day before the World Championships begin.
Photo Courtesy: USA Swimming
“I’ve got an open water swim in Ireland on Saturday, July 22, so I’m going to make my way over when I’m done,” he said. “It’s a four-man relay across Galway Bay, about 10k. Each of us will do about a 45-minute clip.”
Tim Hinchey has never held a job in swimming, but the new should feel right at home in USA Swimming waters.
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