Following the high school season in 2021, head coach of HSE Swimming and Diving and Southeastern Swim Club, Andy Pederson, retired from coaching after a long and successful career. In the late summer of that same year, Christian Hanselmann was hired as head coach for both the high school and club teams.
Hanselmann has been coaching in the sport of swimming since 2009, but his job at HSE is his first head coaching position. Coming from being an assistant coach at Carmel High School for a number of years, Hanselmann looked to turn HSE into a powerhouse, similar to Carmel. We recently sat down with Hanselmann to ask him about this job and what makes him a great swim coach.
When asked about the head coaching job, Hanselmann admitted that he never expected to be the head coach of a program.
“When this opportunity presented itself, I wanted to take my experiences and knowledge to do the best I can to make HSE the best swimming and diving team it can be,” Hanselmann said. “HSE has always been an excellent program within the state and the country, and I was/am excited to be a part of that.”
Prior to being a coach, Hanselmann had been involved with the sport since he was just six months old. At that age, he would go to the pool and watch his older brother compete. Growing up, he would run behind the timers to help pick up their timing sheets. In middle school, Hanselmann began swimming competitively.
“I really enjoyed swimming a lot,” Hanselmann said. “Once I got into high school, my eyes started to open [up] to what was possible in the sport, and I began to take it more seriously.”
Following his high school swimming career, Hanselmann joined the Brigham Young University swim team as a walk-on. Being a member of the team for 3 years, Hanselmann took many of the things he learned from his teammates and coaches to help him become the coach he is today.
Since becoming the head coach, the boys’ team has sent multiple swimmers to the IHSAA State Meet hosted every February. Last season, the boys finished 20th at the state meet, highlighted by the sophomore, Jihoon Jung, finishing 7th place in the 200-yard individual medley.
When asked about what Hanselmann likes to coach the best, he responded that he enjoys helping swimmers become better technically and mentally.
“Seeing athletes make a change that yields a positive impact is always going to be one of the most fun aspects of coaching,” Hanselmann said. “I think the most important thing to coach is the mental aspect; in the end, that is what is going to separate the best from the rest.”
With the background of being a solid high school swimmer, a walk-on on the collegiate level, and being a coach at both the high school and collegiate level, Hanselmann’s background adds so much experience and knowledge to his coaching.
“My coaching philosophy is unique and personal to me,” Hanselmann said. “I’ve developed through my own life view, experiences, training, and learning.”
Hanselmann enjoys being a coach because of the impact he can make on young athletes. The growth and development of his athletes is the top priority Hanselmann has.
“[The] ability to make an impact on young adults and see them grow and develop as athletes and as people [is my priority],” Hanselmann said. “Being a head coach adds more responsibility to that because I’m responsible in-part for making sure the entire team is having a positive experience, not just a certain group, and that looks different for different people on the team.”
Going into the start of the season, the boys hope to perform better than their 20th place finish last year. The first meet of the season is at home against Noblesville on November 21st.
Story by Elise Herman.
