From Pullouts to Pool Deck: Sarah Stockwell

Eight-time NCAA All-American Sarah Stockwell-Gregson traded up her goggles and caps to sit on the other side of the sport of swimming.

Stockwell-Gregson has developed into one of the top coaches in the ACC and the profile of the H2Okies swimming and diving program has risen dramatically since her hiring.

Under Stockwell-Gregson’s tutelage, Virginia Tech saw two top five finishes at the ACC Championships, five individual conference champions, four All-American performances at NCAA Championships and five Honorable Mention All-American swims in 2016-17.

As athletes, we can all relate to the incredible feeling of success – a feeling that was too familiar for Sarah Stockwell. Sarah competed on the Women’s Varsity Swim Team at the University of Indiana from 2005-2009, achieved 8 All-American honors and held 4 school records in the 100 breaststroke, 200 breaststroke, 200 medley relay, and 400 medley relay. She was not a stand-out athlete before college, but explained, “My coaches growing up used to say ‘you have some talent, but you have some work ethic too’ and I think that it something that really helped me balance out having success.” Sarah quickly learned that she needed to work hard for all the success that she earned and has since then transferred those skills well beyond her time in the pool.

With two Big Ten rings on her hand, Sarah ended her swimming career with a positive attitude and incredible experiences under her belt. “Initially, it was awesome,” Sarah explained, “there is a lot of freedom and you get that experience of being a ‘normal college student’, once that wore off, and I’ll tell you it wore off pretty quickly, panic set in. I came here to be a swimmer and get a degree, but what was I supposed to do with that degree?” Having moved over 2,000 miles from Seattle, Washington to compete for the Hoosiers, Sarah quickly learned to become independent and make the required sacrifices for the sport. Through her many years and hard work in the pool, she developed strong relationships with staff members and was surrounded by great mentors that helped her realize passions and directed her next steps.

During her last months of undergraduate study in Recreational Sports Management, Sarah interned in the Indiana University strength and conditioning department and was offered a graduate position shortly after graduation. While working on her Master’s Degree in Applied Sports Science, Sarah quickly picked up on her passion for sport, as she worked with the IU field hockey, women’s soccer, softball, and swimming teams. After that year, she learned that her career desires lied solely in the sport of swimming, so upon meeting. Shortly after, Sarah decided to accept an open GA coaching spot for the swim team. After finishing up her degree, she was confident that coaching was her passion and shortly after accepted the opportunity with Virginia Tech.

Self-discovery and uncovering what you want to do with your life after college can be difficult. Another struggle Sarah faced post-D1 athletics, was finding that consistent schedule with workouts and eating habits. As many athletes, especially swimmers, quickly learn is the difference between fueling for performance and fueling for your body and finding the motivation to work out alone can be difficult. Especially, finishing her time up in a sport that required a consumption of +3,000 calories/day and demanded 24+ mandatory hours of training, the transition was difficult. Once settled into the South West Virginia lifestyle, Sarah found herself in a unique opportunity to set a schedule for herself, packing a gym bag every morning and setting a time every day to workout. Sarah has used her athlete mindset and her time off the pool deck to take more classes, read audio books, and continue her journey of self-discovery.

Advice:

“Have an idea in your head of what you want to do with your life. I am not just talking about career, I am talking about your LIFE. Do you want to have a family, do you want to live in a specific area? And then back track from there and see what it takes to achieve that and let that be your guide.”

“Just because your sport is gone doesn’t mean your goal setting skills have to go away. The goals just change, the picture just changes”

Follow Sarah on LinkedIn here.