by Augsburg Head Coach Zach Wood
I am new to Augsburg University as of November 2024. Our program is in a unique situation at the moment. After encountering some staffing and recruiting challenges during and after COVID, the program was put on pause this season. In order to revitalize the team, the University performed a coaching search and eventually determined that I was the best fit to reestablish the culture and achieve success moving forward.
Prior to my employment at Augsburg I was a long time coach at Minnetonka Swim Club, which I began after my own swimming career at the University of Minnesota ended post Olympic Trials in 2008. I also spent an exciting season at The University of St. Thomas in 2012-2013. The head coach position for Black Dog Swimming was my next step for the 2013-2014 season. At the end of that season, my wife and I had our first child, and I made the transition off the pool deck and into an office. I spent the next ten years in a variety of roles learning and leading in the wealth management space and parenting three wonderful children. My love for swimming and coaching never left me though, and was reinvigorated from a multitude of factors that sent me back on a path to the pool and student athletes.
At the moment, we don’t have any swimmers on the team. My number one priority is to recruit young women that are ready to make an impact by being intentional about their personal values and the values we establish as a team. Our first class will need to be a collective group of leaders. Next years’ class is being assembled as you read this. I’m currently speaking with a number of in-state and out of state, including international, athletes. They are in the process of applying, learning more about the school, journeying through the complexities of financial aid, and connecting with me about swimming, school, and life. A common theme I’ve heard is that many athletes desire to attend a small school with a close group of supporters; from teammates to coaches to professors to fellow students. That is a goal I’m confident we can satisfy here at Augsburg.
The young women I’ve had the privilege to connect with are thoughtful, caring, values-oriented, optimistic human beings. Each one of them has conveyed to me that swimming is a valuable part of their life and serves to elevate their fulfillment as unique individuals. We will always strive to make our program an uplifting one. That doesn’t mean avoiding challenges, but does mean engaging with an “I get to” attitude, instead of an “I have to” perspective. Life, and college especially, is just too short to take for granted the ability to seek our full potential; physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Our program’s culture will revolve around the concepts of Holistic wellness and Self awareness. These are tools and traits that encourage us to be the best versions of ourselves, in the water and outside of it, in college and afterwards. By taking care of ourselves in every sense of the word, we can be poised to perform optimally in service of our goals. Through self awareness we can establish the right kinds of goals, define what success looks like for us, and continuously reevaluate our tactics for training, preparation, execution, and performance. Cultivating this mentality means growing in trust, honesty, compassion, self respect, and empathy as young adults, into and throughout adulthood.
Some of the unique aspects of our program will be our focus on values identification and deliberate embrace of those values. We will perform a values exercise each fall as individuals and as a team. This will serve as a north star for our training and racing evaluations. Swimming can be an expression of our personal values on a daily basis. That said, your times don’t define you. Swimming fast is fun, but you’re never less of a person because of a bad race. Likewise, embracing and overcoming challenges offers an opportunity for personal growth that doesn’t come easily. We will have a lot of fun and we will be intentional about our behaviors and our pursuits.
Another unique element of Augsburg is our embrace of the city. Part of the Augsburg Experience is experiential learning and community involvement in Minneapolis. We will be using the city as an extension of campus, both academically and athletically. The vibrancy of the city is an incredible element in the quality of life in this area. Whether it be sporting events, theater, restaurants, music, or the outdoors, we will be utilizing the brilliant cultural elements the city has to offer.
In my short time at Augsburg I’ve come to learn that the campus, coaches, and academic community are like a family. For the right athlete, Augsburg will be an incredible place that serves them for a lifetime. They will get all of the mentorship, internship, learning specialists, research, tutor, social, cultural experiences they could ever hope for on our campus. With our team, they will forge friendships they never knew possible. As a coach I can offer a perspective as a former Division I athlete myself; but one that is now greatly influenced by my role as a father that understands the care and effort that goes into raising a tiny human into a full fledged, autonomous adult, and all the joy and weight that comes with that season of life.