Washingtonville welcomes new girls swim and dive coach

Stefanie Sommer has been in the water since she was four years old. This fall, she steps onto the pool deck as Washingtonville's new head varsity coach for girls swim and dive.

Coach Sommer swam club growing up and made her high school varsity team in eighth grade, where she was a captain for three years. She swam all four years at Mount Saint Mary College and captained the team for three of them. Her events were the 100 and 200 backstroke, along with distance freestyle.

"I've kind of just always been in the swim world," she said.

Coach Sommer joined the district in December while finishing her certification and was hired for the fall as a math and special education teacher at Washingtonville High School, making this her first full school year here.

"I love it. Everyone's so nice and willing to help you," she said of her first months. 

She has coached club swimming since she graduated high school, driving home from college in recent seasons to help out. Once she started teaching at Washingtonville, some of the club swimmers she already coached, who are Washingtonville students, started recruiting her.

"They were always like, 'Oh, you're in the school now, you want to come coach?'" she said. "I know they were looking for people, so it just kind of worked out."

Her coaching philosophy revolves around coaching the person first, the athlete second.

"Most girls this age are really impressionable," she said. "My coaches definitely shaped who I am today. I hope that I can shape their character, their confidence, and provide that same kind of mentorship."

She is just as direct about schoolwork. Coach Sommer graduated college with a 4.0, and she wants her swimmers to keep the "student" in student-athlete.

"You're a student and then you're an athlete," she said. "One is only going to get you so far."

A lot of that comes from her own high school coaches, Mr. and Mrs. Quinn, who she still keeps in touch with today.

As for the season, she likes what she has coming back, including a shot at a county title with sectionals in Washingtonville's own pool.

"It's a really good group of girls," she said. "I'm really excited to start the season, and to start a full year at Washingtonville."

Welcome to the deck, Coach Sommer!