Coach Barb Kolitsch is a lifelong swimmer, triathlete and coach with over 40 years experience. As a swim coach and teacher of physical education, Barb loves inspiring healthy movement and cultivating passionate swimmers.

I learned to swim at the Appleton YMCA with my brothers and sister. I started swim team when I was four years old for the Appleton Marlins, and was a part of the state champion team for 5 years. In high school I swam for Appleton-West, and was a part of school records, conference championships and part of our school’s state team. I swam three years for UW-Stevens Point and was a three year national qualifier. After college I swam masters for many years and held numerous Wisconsin short course meter records.

Our family spent summers at our cottage in Little Suamico. We swam almost everyday, enjoying the roughest of water conditions. The bigger the waves, the better!

Learning to Swim to Open Water Racing

While still in college I developed a love for triathlons and open water swim races. During winter break our college team competed in a beach to beach ocean 1 mile swim. The next big open water five kilometer race I did four months pregnant with my first baby at the World Masters Triathlon Championship. Since that time I’ve competed and participated in many open water swims in Lake Michigan, Lake Superior, San Francisco Bay, the North Shore on Oahu, Hawaii, and many more!

I started coaching a special Olympian—Joe, who was non-verbal and wanted to learn how to do flip turns, when I was 16 years old. Working with Joe was fun since he was so motivated to learn. My next coaching job started the summer before I began college. I coached the Howard-Suamico summer swim club for four summers. After finishing college I coached with numerous other clubs and teams through the years: Oneida Tribal School swim team, Team Wisconsin for the North American Indigenous Games, Bayport High School, Green Bay YMCA, Howard-Suamico Stormbreakers, and Green Bay Swim Club. I have been co-coaching an annual swim clinic for many years, the clinic mainly consists of athletes who compete or wish to compete in triathlons.

One-one-One Coaching

About 16 years ago I started coaching one-on-one swimmers in my own Endless Pool. I was a single mother of two kids and couldn’t leave them at home to coach swimmers. I started the business with the intent to be able to video record and show swimmers what they looked like. My experience of coaching prior to getting my pool was that young swimmers would argue with me when I told them they were performing the skill incorrectly. I was confident video recording would help 100% as a teaching tool. Now today, I record myself to ensure I’m swimming like I think I’m swimming.

I’ve met with hundreds of swimmers over the years and learned what analogies and descriptions worked best in helping them improve their technique. Swimmers taught me new languages to use as well. In my pool, I teach swimmers to “feel” the right technique because when they go back to their normal training environment they need to be able to repeat the right technique by feel.

From the time I started swimming, I always took a strong interest in what the fast swimmers were doing differently from me. When I was on the Appleton Marlins team, I studied swimmers in practice and at meets. While swimming, I was always watching my teammates during practice. When I got on the blocks at a swim meet I tried to “look” like the fast swimmers by swimming the way they did.

Observing & Studying

After I started coaching I bought books, attended swim clinics, and studied the best swimmers in the world. I’m always watching how swimmers move through the water. I recently swam with some very advanced open water swimmers in Hawaii. I couldn’t help myself from watching anyone who was near me in the long open water swim I did with them.

Through the years I’ve purchased many books on swim technique as well as learned from other coaches, swim clinics and by working with swimmers.

Swimming & Modeling

When I coached and couldn’t find the words that clicked to teach a swimmer how to correct their technique I would use my own swim workout to “swim” like they did. If they had trouble with their arm entry, I would try to do an arm entry like them and then do it right. I swam to understand how their body moved and the muscles they should and shouldn’t be moving. I found words to describe how certain techniques could be described to make sense to them by the same technique I learned the right techniques when I was a young swimmer, just in reverse to correct their technique.

Always Learning

Today, almost 40 years since coaching Joe, I learn from every swimmer I work with. Using the same language and descriptions doesn’t work for everyone. I have many ways to teach and many analogies to help each athlete learn and remember techniques.

Love of the Water

I love water and want everyone I meet to love the water as much as I do. Water is very healing. It washes stress away, promotes quiet in the mind and restores the senses when all you can hear is the swishing of water. Water removes all the weight of gravity away from a tired body and swimming lengthens the body and spine, especially from a lot of sitting during a work day.

I provide every type of athlete customized swim technique improvement plans to help accomplish their swimming goals.