University of Mary, ND

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University of Mary–Bismarck, ND

Inaugural Season: 2016-2017

Head Coach: Allan McCallum

Tell us about your swimming and coaching background:

I swam collegiately at TCU, where I was an All-Conference swimmer and fortunate to be a part of three conference championship teams. As soon as I retired as a swimmer, I got involved with coaching and absolutely love every minute of it. I have coached at a variety of different levels the past 9 years, but have most recently spent the past 3.5 years in Des Moines Iowa coaching Central Iowa Aquatics. I came across the opportunity to start up a Division II women’s program at the University of Mary and am excited to help build a program here.

In your interview, what is the University’s vision for the program?

Their vision for the program is to make The University of Mary a great college experience the student-athletes on the team. The school really wants the swimmers to be a part of a program that is successful both in the classroom and the pool. The support from the administration so far has been outstanding, and there is a lot of excitement about having a swim team on campus.

What is your vision for the program?

I would like for the program to be a family that develops well rounded individuals. Swimming is such a great sport because it teaches us so many different lessons and the swimmers really develop some special bonds with their teammates. It is important that the program is helping our swimmers develop the skills and traits necessary to be successful long after their swimming career is over.

What are some of your strongest held coaching beliefs?

Throughout my swimming career, I have been fortunate to have some great coaches that really had a huge impact on not only my swimming career, but my life as well. I carry with me today the values that they taught me and try to have a similar impact on the athletes that I coach. I believe that if you take care of the athlete as a whole and help the swimmers develop positive traits and skills, fast swimming is inevitable. It is important to create a positive environment here at the University of Mary and help the student athletes have a memorable college experience.

Do you have scholarships? And if so, how many?

We have 3 scholarships to start out with, and will have more each year as we continue to grow. It is exciting being at a school that really wants to see the program be successful. They are committed, just like I am committed to recruiting quality athletes. University of Mary also has financial aid options available.

What conference are you in, and who are the other teams in it?

We compete in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference with Northern State University, Minnesota State Moorehead, Minnesota State Mankato, St Cloud State, University of Sioux Falls, and Augustana University.

Let’s look out three years from now. Describe the program you have built.

I would like to have a program where we are developing well rounded successful young women that are active in the community and going on to have successful careers. At that time, our roster size will have grown and we will have more depth to be competing at the conference level and start having swimmers compete at the NCAA meet.

Who are you searching for? Describe your ideal recruits.

I am looking to recruit motivated and determined swimmers; swimmers that have positive energy and want to be successful academically while pursuing their athletic dreams. I want swimmers that are excited to be a part of family environment where they support their teammates through the good and the bad. If we get a team of those kind of athletes here at the University of Mary, we will be successful.

How can LemonAid add value to your job, and help you build your program?

LemonAid is a great program because it helps streamline the collegiate recruiting process by making recommendations based of searches and likes. It definitely helps us identify swimmers that fit our recruiting profile and help grow our recruiting base.

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