Q&A With Amy Albiero, Co-Head Coach of Cardinal Aquatics
Oakland University All-American Amy Comerford found a lifelong watery playground after joining a summer league team. The experience sent her on an aquatic journey as a swimmer, swim coach par excellence, wife of an esteemed college coach (Arthur Albiero) and mother of three outstanding athletes.
Amy Albiero
Head Coach
Louisville, Kentucky
- Oakland University, B.S., psychology; exercise physiology (minor), 1995
- Co-owner/co-head coach, Cardinal Aquatics
- Owner/managing director, SafeSplash + Swim Labs
- Head swimming coach, Team USAShort Course World Championships, 2016
- NFHS Coach of the Year, girls’ swimming and diving, Christian Academy of Louisville, 2016
- 27x CSCAA D-II All-American; member of D-II national champions (1991-94)
- 12x D-II national champion—individually in 100 back (3x), 200 backstroke (1x) and 200 IM (1x)
- D-II Swimmer of the Year, 1992
- Former NCAA D-II national record holder, 100 back (55.49)
- Former school record holder, 200 yard back (2:01.26), 200 IM (2:05.99) and as a member of 200-400 medley and 200 freestyle relays
SWIMMING WORLD: Swimming—how did you get started?
COACH AMY ALBIERO: I began as an 8-and-under on a neighborhood summer league team. That led to a YMCA year-round program and then a USA team.
SW: A 27-time CSCAA All-American, what was it like training at Oakland University?
AA: In the summer of 1988, I was training with a group of college swimmers at Kenyon. Oakland men’s hall of fame coach Pete Hovland brought a group to train with them. I fell in love with the people, the coaches and the atmosphere. The following year, I got a recruiting call from Oakland women’s coach Tracy Huth. I was having a rough time. I wasn’t enjoying swimming after that summer and was contemplating quitting. When Tracy called, I knew that was where I was meant to be!
Tracy and Jeff Cooper were my primary college coaches. I was “a diamond in the rough” in my swimming and in knowing what I wanted to do with my life. My teammates and my coaches are why I thrived at Oakland. Their belief in me drove me to prove them right and, ultimately, believe more in myself.
SW: …And with a teammate, Arthur Albiero, whom you ultimately married?
AA: Arthur transferred to Oakland from Cal State Bakersfield after his freshman year. He was a hard worker, but it was his passion for the sport that drew me to him (and, of course, his accent, lol). He wanted to know the “why” behind everything. If he needed work on a specific stroke, he bought books and went to the library to research it. That’s why he’s the amazing coach he is to this day!
I was the type of athlete who trusted my coach to know what was best for me; I didn’t need to know the “science” behind it. Arthur and I would stay up late talking about motivation, leadership and race strategy. We didn’t always agree (he’s more conservative, and I’m a wild child), but both of us are very passionate about the things we believe. It was lots of fun…still is!
SW: How did you transition to coaching?
AA: The truth is, coaching found me. We had our first son very early in our relationship, just after my senior year of college. I was coaching for the Oakland Live Y’ers club team and a local high school. Scott Teeters gave me the opportunity to coach some amazing younger swimmers. Many went on to be high-level collegiate athletes and Olympians (Peter Vanderkaay).
Ultimately, the true blessing came from the parents of the group I coached. They encouraged and mentored me as I became a new mom and a new coach. After Arthur graduated, we moved to Ohio, where he became an assistant for Jim Steen at Kenyon. I took a job as the aquatics director at the YMCA. It was here that I fell in love with teaching swimming to kids of all ages and abilities.
SW: Who were some early coaching influences?
AA: Coaches like Tracy Huth, Jeff Cooper, Jim and Marci Steen, Pete Hovland were central to my coaching development. These coaches/people believed in me, held me accountable, told me the truth when I needed to hear it, and loved me through my hardest times. They were all tough, but loving and fair. Arthur’s perspective and encouragement were and have been the biggest influence in my coaching career.
SW: How big is Cardinal Aquatics these days?
AA: We hover around 100, depending on the time of year. We are not only a team, but a FAMILY! We are inclusive, striving to develop great people in addition to fast swimmers! We have developed many national-level swimmers who have gone on to become NCAA qualifiers and All-Americans. Most recently: Grace Oglesby, Kaylee Wheeler, Zorry Mason, Michael Eastman, Ella Welch, Gabi and Nick Albiero…just to name a few!
SW: Cardinal is a USA Swimming Bronze Club Excellence program after being a Silver. What’s it take to get back to that level?
AA: Ultimately, we need to continue to raise the standard. I strongly believe in the process of developing swimmers at the youngest level. Teaching proper technique while keeping the elements of fun is key—especially in the middle school years. At the top level, getting our swimmers back to national meets is our goal.
SW: You have coached all of your children.
AA: …And made every mistake in the book! I have said things I regret and spoken to them in ways I shouldn’t have. I was harder on them than the rest of my group. Often I didn’t give them the attention they deserved because they were my kids—or have grace with them when I would’ve with others.
I learned early on that if I wanted my kids to stay in the sport and enjoy it, I would need to surround them with other coaches. I tell my swim parents, “Your swimmers will have many coaches in their careers, but you are their moms/dads—I can’t be that for them. So let us do the coaching, and you be their parent.”
I love being my kids’ mom! As they got older, rather than me coaching the senior/national groups, I stayed with our 12-and-unders and hired coaches who I believed in to coach my older groups. That was the best decision I ever made. I love helping to develop and encourage coaches just as much as I like helping to develop athletes!
SW: And what advice do you have for mother-swim coaches who find themselves in the same position?
AA: The interesting thing…parenting IS coaching! My kids would be talking to me about life things, and when I would respond, they would say, “You are always coaching me.” My response would be, “THAT’S CALLED PARENTING!”
Communication is key! We got better at separating coach/parent roles. The truth is, I can never not be their mom. I can’t turn it off…ever! What we got better at is communicating the NEED and asking better questions of each other—things like, if one of them was coming to me upset or needing to tell me something swimming-related, I might ask, “Do you want to tell your mom or Coach Amy?” They would come to me at times, knowing they needed to hear some hard truth, but would say, “I need to talk to my mom right now.” I know that means, “I just need a hug and someone to listen…not to try to fix it or lecture or challenge me.”
I learned to listen as a parent first, give a hug, and let them know they were heard. What I do in my parenting and coaching is tell the truth! I’ve learned to be softer, when necessary, but I tell the truth or my perspective, even when it’s hard to hear. When I know it’s hard, I will ask at the end, “Am I wrong?” This gives room for thought and conversation. I may start the sentence with “Let me reflect something back to you that you are not seeing.” I think my kids have appreciated or at least respected this over the years! I think it’s what all my swimmers love—and hate—about me.
SW: I am assuming being married to a swim coach is a plus. In what way have you helped each other?
AA: We are each other’s No. 1 fan! We encourage and sharpen one another. Not only do we love each other, but we also have great respect. We can be honest with each other and challenge each other when we don’t see eye-to-eye. It’s nice that we have our separate teams and businesses. We truly appreciate a different perspective, knowing that the other person has our best interests at heart.
SW: Today’s question: “swim training—art or science”?
AA: It’s a mix of both. I have a physiology background, and I believe at the end of the day, the WORK needs to be put in. I think the ART comes in when planning a set, a practice or putting together a season plan: How can you put in the work and make it fun and engaging, or at the very least, less boring?
The “art” comes in putting together a beautiful practice! It’s also not a one-size-fits-all. What may work for one athlete may not work for another. Getting to know your athletes and what they need or what works best for them—both physically and mentally—that’s the “art” in developing a person into the best athlete they can be.
SW: Your 55.49 was once the Oakland University 100 back record. Did you ever dream you’d see a high school girl go sub-50?
AA: I mean, how AWESOME! I just love and respect fast swimming. Our sport just continues to evolve, and it’s been thrilling to still be involved in it! That time was an Oakland record and NCAA D-II record for many years. Underwaters weren’t really a thing we did back then. When my 13-year-old daughter, Gabi, beat my time, that was when I knew I was getting old. And she wasn’t really a backstroker!
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Michael J. Stott is an ASCA Level 5 coach, golf and swimming writer. His critically acclaimed coming-of-age golf novel, “Too Much Loft,” is in its third printing, and is available from store.Bookbaby.com, Amazon, B&N and distributors worldwide.