U.S. Paralympics Swimming | Spreadsheets, Swim Strokes and Success: Inside Modzelewski’s Coaching Style

Dave Modzelewski by no means deliberate on turning into a swim coach. But in 2011, when a good friend advised making use of for teaching jobs, the previous University of Connecticut membership swimmer discovered himself again on deck for the primary time since faculty. 

“I fell in love with watching kids improve, learn and be safe around the water,” Modzelewski stated. “Coaching combined my love of sports and my love of teaching.” 

That sudden twist set him on a path that will finally result in Paris 2024 and now to Singapore, the place he’ll function head coach of Team USA on the 2025 World Para Swimming Championships. 

A Coaching Path Shaped by Curiosity 

Modzelewski grew up in Connecticut and has been round a pool since age 8. Like many younger swimmers, he spent summers lifeguarding and educating classes. Coaching, although, grew to become his calling. He labored his method up via YMCA packages, developmental squads and highschool groups, producing a number of state champions and All-Americans alongside the best way. 

By 2021 he was on the North Shore of Massachusetts, becoming a member of the YMCA Sharks program in Beverly. A self-professed Yankees fan, he jokes that residing simply half-hour from Boston has been “a hard move,” however the proper one. 

The Leanne Smith Connection 

That transfer additionally set the stage for a partnership with Paralympic champion Leanne Smith. After coaching on the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, via the Tokyo Games, Smith returned house to Massachusetts. She wanted a coach, and she or he had seen Modzelewski’s calm, analytical type on deck.

“The YMCA has been extremely supportive,” Modzelewski stated. “They’ve supported us both in this endeavor of Para swimming.”

Smith and Modzelewski clicked immediately. Close in age, their relationship balances professionalism and friendship. Together they’ve reimagined coaching and method, particularly as Smith’s incapacity has developed. At one level she shifted from having the ability to get better each arms in freestyle to just one.

“How do you reimagine freestyle?” Modzelewski stated. “How do you get creative and go faster?”

Their shared love of spreadsheets and knowledge retains the partnership targeted. “We track everything,” he stated. “It keeps her motivated and keeps me on track.”

Discovering Para Swimming

His first Para swim meet got here in 2022 on the Para Swimming World Series in Indianapolis. The environment was quieter than he anticipated—no coaches pacing the deck shouting, no roaring crowds—as a result of officers wished to keep away from giving unfair benefits to athletes with sensory or visible disabilities.

But two years later in Paris, the whole lot modified. The Paralympic Games delivered an environment not like something Modzelewski had ever felt.

“The energy in that place transferred from fans to athletes to staff,” he stated. “Back in the warmup pool we could feel the vibrations through the ground as the crowd went nuts.”

Walking Smith out for her first race in Paris, Modzelewski’s coronary heart raced. “All I could think was, ‘Don’t trip; don’t drop her; don’t mess up!’” he stated, laughing.

Coaching Style: Math Meets Mindset

Modzelewski describes himself as mathematical and scientific, an method that meshes properly with Smith’s data-driven mentality. But he additionally believes in staying even-keeled.

“Watching Coach Mike Krzyzewski growing up, I realized athletes will reflect the coach,” he stated. “If I’m stressed, they’ll be stressed. If I’m relaxed, they’ll be relaxed.”

He prides himself on being artistic, prepared to return to the drafting board, and celebrating shared success. “Everyone’s success was everyone’s success,” he stated. “As coaches we celebrated every swimmer’s success like it was our own.”

Head Coach in Singapore 

When U.S. Paralympics Swimming named him head coach for the 2025 world championships, Modzelewski was surprised. “Any coach could have been the head coach, but I was still shocked to learn it was going to be me,” he stated.

Now, with a brand new Paralympic cycle underway, he sees a chance to assist set the tone for the years forward. “We’re all on Team USA. We’ve done this before and we’re the best of the best, and we’re going to show the world,” he stated.

Life Beyond the Pool 

These days Modzelewski balances worldwide teaching along with his YMCA tasks in Beverly, the place he lives along with his rescue canine, Penny. And sure, he nonetheless will get grief for being a Yankees fan in Red Sox nation.

But if his teaching journey proves something, it’s that sudden turns can result in exceptional locations. From lifeguard stands to the intense lights of Paris, Modzelewski has constructed a profession outlined by curiosity, creativity and the belief of the athletes he serves.

“The trust of the athletes is a great honor,” he stated. “What they want to accomplish, I want to accomplish. I’m happy to play a role in helping them get there.”