Sugar Creek Swim Club
Crawfordsville, Indiana

Meet Coach Mark Hesse


Personal Background
Born: Hartford, CT
Grew up: Concord, MA
School(s) attended: Georgetown University
Degree(s): Bachelors in History
Marital Status: Married
Spouse: Debbie
Children: Gabriella (7) and Hannah (3)












Coaching Experience
How long have you been coaching? "Full-time for 22 years, summers prior to that 3 years."
Age groups of teams coached? "Everything from learn-to-swim to Olympians."
Certifications, association memberships: "Currently ASCA Level 4, member of Indiana High School Swim Coaches Associations, Indiana Coaches of Girls Sports Association, and National Federation of High Schools Coaches Association."
Significant competitive achievements: "At North Central - 5 time Indiana High School coach of the Year (various associations), IHSAA Boys State Champions 2005, Runners-up 2001, IHSAA Girls State Runners-up 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004; With Washington Township - 3-time Indiana Swimming Coach of the year, 5-time Indiana Senior State Champions, 2003 LC Speedo Meet - Men's Champions, 6-time Age Group State Runners-up."
Strategy for building a team?"I have three rules: 1. Always Do Your Best, 2. Always Do the Right Thing, 3. Follow the Golden Rule - Always Treat Others the Way You Want to Be Treated Yourself."



























Message to new swimmers and parents:
"I believe that competitive swimming is the finest activity in which young people and their families can become involved. Our sport offers a positive outlet for children's enthusiasm, energy and time as well as opportunities for parents to actively support their children's interests. With proper guidance, competitive swimming is an enjoyable, educational experience that is a preparation for life. Young swimmers develop an understanding and appreciation of such important concepts as self-esteem, self-discipline, personal responsibility, perseverance, teamwork, constructive self-motivation, goal setting, disappointment and achievement.

I hope that all our swimmers' careers are enjoyable, rewarding, successful and lifelong. We all understand that every child will not become a championship caliber athlete. No matter how deeply they are motivated or how hard they are driven, some swimmers may only achieve moderate competitive success. However, the experience of striving toward worthwhile goals is often more valuable than achieving those goals. Consequently, my primary focus is to help all the children on the team develop the necessary skills in and out of the water to achieve their maximum potential. I expect and demand that they learn how to start, turn, swim and race ALL their strokes correctly and efficiently.

It is important to realize that this process takes time and different children have different rates of learning. Swimmers will not burn out at a young age if unreasonable expectations are not placed on them. The only pressure they should feel is to perform to the best of their abilities in a given situation. If the swim program is well planned, all athletes can gain a great deal from their individual experiences in swimming, whether or not they ever win a race. Winning, the final goal in all competitive athletics, is not our purpose; the pursuit of excellence is. Our objectives are far more important than medals, ribbons and records. Each swimmer will learn that in order to reach their potential they must develop good habits and they must commit to working consistently, intelligently and diligently toward their goals."

- Coach Mark Hesse


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