Clarke Central High School assistant swim coach Sean Gillan stands near the pool at UGA’s Ramsey Student Center, where the CCHS swim team practices, on Jan. 31. Gillan previously coached swimmers for international-level competition, but started coaching for CCHS last year. “This has been a blast. Don’t get me wrong, I miss coaching at the upper level. I miss coaching at the international level. I miss coaching at the college level,” Gillan said. “There’s so much science that goes into it at that level. It’s incredibly challenging to write workouts everyday, to really try to figure out what’s going wrong with people’s races and trying to fix all the little tiny things. But when you get a group of kids that are really into it and are improving this fast and are sweet and nice, then it kind of makes up for it.” Photo by Colin Frick
Clarke Central High School assistant swim coach Sean Gillan was aiming for the 1984 Olympics as a swimmer but had surgery for a nerve ablation in his left shoulder, which prevented him from competing.
Elena Webber: Can you describe your life as a swimmer?
Sean Gillan: I grew up in St. Petersburg, Florida. When I was a kid, I swam summer league. I didn’t really start swimming seriously until I hit my freshman year in high school, and then I decided to go ahead and commit to swimming and start swimming seriously. I swam for a big Catholic prep school and they had a really good swim program, so I swam with the high school team my freshman year. Then, after my freshman year I started swimming for a club coach and by my sophomore year in high school, I was qualifying for junior nationals. I was 3rd at state as a sophomore in the 500 freestyle, I went 4:40. Then, I qualified for nationals for the first time when I was a junior in high school.
EW: Did you want swimming to be your career?
SG: Yes. I cannot blame it on anybody, but myself. Then I went to the University of Arkansas on a full ride as a swimmer, but I ended up — just before the trials in 1984 — having to have a nerve ablation in my left shoulder and didn’t even get to go to Olympic trials. My mom wanted me to go to Columbia (University) my dad wanted me to go to Notre Dame (University). I chose Arkansas because I thought that that was the program that was going to get me to the Olympics. That was my whole goal, the ‘84 Olympics. It what was one of those things. I was being recruited by schools all around the country. I chose Arkansas because there was a coach there I liked, not really realizing what was going to happen to me.
EW: How did you feel after the surgery?
SG: For a couple years, it was like my life had ended, to be real honest. When you have that kind of focus for that long, six years of six to eight hours a day… my whole life was centered around it. Then all of a sudden, it’s just snatched away. It’s pretty crushing, but when I look back on my life now, it’s definitely the story of when one door closes another door opens.
EW: How did the surgery affect your life?
SG: It actually worked out pretty well. I sat out a year, I coached for a year, I ran the distance program at Daytona Beach Community College for a year while my shoulder healed up. Then, I went to work for Palm Beach County Surf Rescue as a rescue jumper, and I ended up doing that for ten years. I started swimming open water races, ocean races. I got picked up by Team Nike to swim in triathlon relays and then long distance ocean races for them. I got to travel a bunch, I got to surf all around the world. I met my wife while I was on the beach. That’s why we’re at UGA. My wife’s a professor here. She’s a world-famous microbiologist. She’s amazing, she’s gorgeous, she’s amazing. I have two amazing kids.
EW: What role did your parents play in your swimming career?
SG: By my senior year, I actually was getting kind of burned out with this coach, and I actually coached myself my senior year in high school. My dad rented pool space for me because I was going to quit swimming because I hated the coach I was swimming for so badly. I wrote down my workouts a month in advance and my dad would go with me to make sure I did them and cheered me on, and he was wonderful. Now I look back at that, and I can’t believe a parent would do that for somebody and it was amazing. He got up with me every morning at 4:30 in the morning and went with me to swim before practice. I had wonderful parents. I just can’t even say enough positive stuff about my parents, especially my dad.
Clarke Central High School assistant swim coach, Sean Gillan coaches swimmers at the Clarke-Oconee swim invitational on Feb 1. Gillan has been subbing around Clarke County to try and find a job. “So, for years I’ve been a stay-at-home dad and just running my swim school in the summer, but then both (the CCHS head swim coach) Emily and my wife this year started telling me that I should try to teach,” Gillan said. “So now I’m waiting for a history position to open up, and I’m subbing around the (Clarke County School District).” Photo by Colin Frick
EW: How did you prep for the Olympic trials?
SG: Just insane amounts of training. That’s part of the reason why I ended up having to have the surgery, was that I was swimming for a D1 program. It was a big sprint school. I was swimming lots and lots of yardage. They were not really treating me the way I should’ve been treated.
EW: What did you get out of reaching that high level of a sport?
SG: Having gone through all that and reached the international level in a sport it also kind of — especially once you kind of step away from it a little bit — you realize life is about the journey and the fun along the way, not to take things so seriously, treat people decently and teammates are family. Self-improvement is the goal. Not beating the other guy, not being the best, because it takes a package that very, very few people have, and that package is not just genetic. It’s a work ethic that’s rare. Learning that work ethic that you take along with you in life no matter whether you take your sport to the highest level or not — that work ethic is the most important thing you can take on.
EW: Why do you like working as Clarke Central High School’s assistant swim coach? What’s your favorite part?
SG: First off, I really enjoy working with Coach (Emily) Hulse. When you been coaching for a long time, when you find somebody that you get along with and is on the same page as you, like the way they want the kids coached, the way they want a program to grow, all that stuff, and is super nice on top of that (is great). She’s just really enjoyable to be around as well as having basically the same moral compass as I have. And then it’s just a great group of kids, I really enjoy it.
EW: What are you doing now career-wise, besides swimming?
SG: So, for years I’ve been a stay-at-home dad and just running my swim school in the summer, but then both (the CCHS head swim coach) Emily and my wife this year started telling me that I should try to teach. So now I’m waiting for a history position to open up, and I’m subbing around the (Clarke County School District). I’m doing some subbing, but it’s mostly long-term subbing, and then I’m waiting for a history position to open up, hopefully at Clarke (Central High School).
