By Brant Daughtry
Great Bend Post Sports
Barton Community College Swimming is under new leadership. Great Bend native Tyler Stein is returning home to coach the program, taking over at just 22 years old. Even though it's the first college head coaching job for Stein, he's already made a difference, as the Barton swim team made it into the top 10 in several events at the team's first event in Topeka on October 2nd.
Sophomores Jocelyn Hamilton and Connor Watson say that being close in age to their head coach goes a long way in creating a supportive environment.
"It's been great, honestly," Says Hamilton. "Having someone close to our age, we can kind of relate to things, and he kind of understands where we're at. Even though he didn't do college swimming, he knows what kind of pressure we're under, what we're feeling, the kind of anxieties that we have. It's just really nice to be supported in a way that we haven't previously been supported."
Watson agreed. "Like she said, he's pretty close in our age, so he kind of knows the same struggles that we're going through, all that kind of stuff. I can show up and say 'I don't want to swim' one day and he'll still say, 'Well you're still swimming.' So, it's all support. We're going to swim, we're going to do this, and it's going to be productive and positive."
Stein doesn't have to be reminded he's young. He knows it's a little uncommon and knows that it'll make some swimmers question him. He's prepared to overcome those challenges.
"I am very young. I'm 22 years old and most of my swimmers are around that 19-20 mark. They have every right to have those concerns. I feel like it's my job to ease their worries, ease those concerns and really show that I'm here because this is my dream. My dream is to help them achieve their goals, to push them to be that little bit better every day. I mean this is what I want to do with my life. I'm committed to it. I'm committed to learning more every day, because how can I expect them to push themselves and grow every day if I'm not willing to put in that same effort and that same energy?"
Barton swimming will head to Iowa Western for the next meet on October 16th.