Photo by Carly Vadinsky
By Jason Aparicio
William Peace University is home to several coaches who walked the sidelines as student-athletes and have since returned to their alma mater to lead its programs to success.
Their return to Peace reflects a lasting connection to the university, their former teams and the experiences that shaped them, allowing them to give back to the programs that once created meaningful moments.
The return of former student-athletes symbolizes more than a new chapter in their lives; it also offers an opportunity to share their athletic experiences and help shape the next generation of Pacer athletes.
Having once competed as Pacers themselves, the coaches can now share their experiences with current athletes not just to share the same goals but to prepare them for life after graduation.
Sophia Swenson, head coach of men’s and women’s swimming at Peace, discussed her return and how being an alum affects her coaching.
“I was looking for another job and wasn’t thrilled with where I was working at the time, and this job happened to come up and I thought to myself what it would be like to come home and get to coach this team,” Swenson said. “Looking at my time being an athlete was a great experience, and I want the future Pacers who come through my program to have a similar experience.”
Donolique Tyrell, the full-time head coach of the men’s and women’s tennis teams and a senior admissions counselor at Peace, said his return was driven by a desire to contribute to and support the team.
“Originally, I was offered a job in the admissions office out of college after working as an admissions ambassador, and that’s what initially brought me back,” Tyrell said. “What brought me back to coaching was that some of the players I played with were still on the team and were at risk of having their season ended because they didn’t have a coach, so the athletic director, Claude Shields, asked if I was willing to do it, and that’s how that came to be.”
The coaches shared similar values they want to see in their athletes, whether in their respective sports or in life after graduation.
Tyrell wants his athletes to lead by example through joy and continue their journey with the core values he learned at Peace.
“My one core value is to compete with joy. It’s pretty straightforward—anything that you do, make sure you’re competing with joy,” Tyrell said. “If there’s no enjoyment or passion, why do it? You’re creating with joy, but you’re also giving it all you’ve got, and those are two big ones that Coach Claude taught me.”
Coach Swenson wants her athletes to be unafraid to ask for help, reach out to peers, and not overthink mistakes, since they’re part of growing as a student-athlete.
“Don’t be afraid to ask for help, go that extra mile, and be willing to fail. People nowadays think, ‘I’m a failure,’ ‘I’m not good at this,’ ‘I can’t do this,’ when really, failing is learning from our mistakes,” Swenson said. “Just have fun and make this experience yours. We’re here for athletics, and we want to support you. We want you to know this school is here to support you; everyone is here. This community is small, and that’s what makes Peace so great.”