Q&A With Jamie Bloom, Head Coach For the YMCA Of the Triangle Area
Jamie Bloom has given her personal and professional life to swimming and the betterment of all those who pursue the sport. Not only a doer, she is a voice for swimming’s underserved populations and continues to serve on local, state, regional and national committee levels.
Jamie Bloom
Head National Team Coach
YMCA of the Triangle Area
Raleigh, North Carolina
• Slippery Rock University, B.A., health and physical education, 1982; Western Maryland College, M.A., physical education and athletic administration, 1989
• Head coach, national team, YMCA of the Triangle Area (YOTA), 2016-present
• Director of swimming operations, William Peace University, 2016-23; head coach, 2016-19
• Head coach, YMCA of Greater Westfield (Mass.), 2005-16
• Assistant coach, University of Tennessee women’s swimming, 2000-05
• Head coach, James Buchanan High School and Mercersburg Area Swim Club, 1982-2000
• Coach, Slippery Rock Eels, Slippery Rock, Pa., 1980-82
• Head coach and manager of National Diversity Select Camp, 2022
• Vice chair of USA Swimming Coach Advisory Committee, 2022-present
• USA Swimming national team manager for 2013 Duel in the Pool, 2015 and 2017 World Junior Championships, among others
• DEI chair, North Carolina Swimming Board of Directors
Q. SWIMMING WORLD: Swimming has been a way of life for you. How did you get started?
A. COACH JAMIE BLOOM: I was a swimmer growing up, and I played lots of other sports. Initially, I swam for the North Suburban YMCA in Woburn, Mass., and then transitioned to the New England Barracudas, an AAU club.
SW: A swimmer and water polo player in college, how did you begin to coach?
JB: I swam through my freshman year for the great Dr. Richard Hunkler, who was also the water polo coach. He expected swimmers to play water polo! When I decided not to compete in swimming anymore, “Doc” told me that I would become a swim team manager. As a manager, I started to learn the business of coaching! My first coaching “job” was with the local USA club—the Slippery Rock Eels.
SW: Who were some early coaching influences?
JB: My high school basketball coach was very demanding and very caring. My high school tennis coach was someone I knew I never wanted to emulate. For him, sports were all business and definitely no fun. Winning was clearly the most important thing. “Doc” Hunkler taught us about being good people, teammates and genuine humans.
SW: You are a successful mentor. Who mentored you as a coach?
JB: Dan Colella was an amazing friend and mentor. His recent loss is profound. He was truly one of the good people in coaching. My experience at Tennessee with him contributed to my growth as a swim coach. More importantly, the example he set daily on how to manage and treat people made me think that I could do the same thing.
SW: You maintain that women need to be bold and be willing to go for it in order to progress. How have you been able to do that at YOTA with 600 swimmers?
JB: I am a confident, assertive leader and usually have a pretty good idea of what my goals are and the path required to achieve them. As a woman, one thing I’ve learned is the importance of having a great support network.
SW: What are YOTA’s goals for Y Nationals this year?
JB: To be united and competitive. We place a lot of importance on high character and team culture. We want to finish top 10 combined and be top five with every relay.
SW: And what’s it like coaching a team with such a great tradition and history?
JB: Awesome! I’ve been involved in Y swimming for the past 17 years, and I knew that YOTA was a program of amazing tradition and success. It’s a great honor for me to follow in the footsteps of Brooks Teal—currently on our staff, Bruce Griffin, Meredith Griffin, Ron Turner and most recently Chad Onken—the reason I came to YOTA. While we follow the previous traditions, we are actively creating our own.
SW: You are director of operations at relatively new William Peace University.
JB: I started out as the head coach at Peace, but when Chad left YOTA, I briefly oversaw the whole team along with coaching at Peace. It really was too much, so we promoted our volunteer coach who has done an amazing job growing the competitive program. As director of operations, I am involved in scheduling, facilities and recruiting and am on deck once a week. Our growth has been steady. After the pause with COVID, we are exactly where we should be and excited for the future.
SW: You were involved in all levels of the sport. What have been your greatest learnings as a team manager for various USA Swimming international teams and camps?
JB: It is a great honor to be part of the staff that works with our very best up-and-coming athletes and our national team members. I have learned that you have to take lots of initiative, anticipate the needs of the athletes, coaches and staff and be the first one up and last one to bed! I’ve learned how to read flight cancellations as they are happening, where the best local coffee shops are and what pre-race snack is favored by each athlete! As a manager, it’s a good idea to always have some kind of USA Swimming swag in your pocket, and it’s best to befriend someone from the host country as soon as you arrive at the competition venue!
SW: You have also been very active on various USAS committees and in admin roles. One was as head coach and team manager for the national Diversity Select Camp. What was that like for you and the swimmers?
JB: For me, it has been really transformational. I was honored to be the Diversity Select Camp head coach. We were at the beautiful Chula Vista training center with an awesome camp staff and really great athletes. It is a tremendous and inspirational experience for kids to swim with others from their own ethnic and racial background and to do that at such a high level.
As for diversity in general, I am very invested in finding opportunities for ALL to compete in this sport. I think that you should be able to participate if you want to swim! It is critical—and even lifesaving—to provide swimming for under-represented communities. Often the barriers are created by lack of access. Just as important, but something that is not always recognized, is that especially in black and brown communities, we are dealing with historical trauma related to water as well as access. These factors have to be considered when trying to bring swimming to everyone.
SW: You have had roles in the Women’s Leadership Summit and are now a member of the newly formed USAS Coach Advisory Council. How is that latter progressing on its short- and long-term goals?
JB: Not only am I involved in USA-S committees and admin roles, but I am also involved in Y Swimming at the national level. One of my greatest strengths is that I am a voice in both organizations, and this has been pretty positive. Many times we are trying to accomplish the same things and often with the same athletes. YMCA Swimming and USA-S have made great progress in working together for our sport. Part of my reason for wanting to be voted onto the CAC was because at the Y, we had lost our vote—and voice—in the house of delegates. It is very important that we have the voice of the Y coaches included. Hopefully, there will be other Y coaches who come on to the CAC in future years.
SW: Trans athletes want respect and to feel safe. How can coaches help them gain those qualities?
JB: That issue is no different than what caring coaches do with any other athlete. It really depends on the culture you have created within your team. Trans athletes want the same things as anyone else—to be recognized, treated fairly, given access and opportunities all in a safe and accepting environment.
SW: How do you find time for such ventures and why do you place such importance on them?
JB: I am a swim coach! It is woven into all of me! I find time because I think it’s important. I am conscious of the opportunities I have been given to help make a difference—in young people’s lives, the families they come from, on teams and in organizations, with other women, in the LGBTQ community and maybe even in the world. If I can help change something for the better, provide inspiration to someone or lead in a positive direction, I will continue to coach!
SW: For some coaches playing golf, cheering for the Red Sox or breeding black labs might seem therapeutic. Two of the three sound like potential adventures in frustration. Is that the case for you?
JB: I am a lifelong Red Sox fan. To be completely honest, I NEVER thought they would win a World Series—at least in my lifetime. It was so exciting when they won in 2004 and have since added several more. True to the nature of all real Sox fans, I am always certain that the current season will be awful and we’ll never win again! I don’t really see much hope for the 2023 season, but I can tell you that Truck Day is Feb. 3, and pitchers and catchers report on Feb. 15!
I no longer breed labradors, but that was a fun time in my life! I currently own a rescue dog—her name is Suki, and she is a Black Mouth Cur! As for golf, I got a new hip a little over a year ago. I’ve played three times since being cleared for activity, and I love golf just as much as always! Let’s just say, it’s good that I have a steady day job!
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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 second printing, and is available from store.Bookbaby.com, Amazon, B&N and distributors worldwide.