Senior Addyson Edwards was a swimmer for the Aberdeen Swim Club and has now transitioned into more of a coaching role.

Edwards has been swimming for about 10 years, but she gave it up to start coaching after her coach suggested it.

“Originally, my coach, Darien (Street), asked me if I would ever want to coach,” Edwards said. “I started coaching our group two, which is older kids, then we added another group and I just started teaching.”

Edwards is gearing up for this weekend’s annual Aberdeen Swim Club High Point Meet at the Aberdeen Aquatic Center.

The new group Edwards started teaching is the Stinger Pups, a group of younger kids ages 8-11, who just joined the swim team.

Edwards talked about what it’s like teaching the younger kids.

“I have to get down on their level more and reiterate what I say,” Edwards said. “I’m used to hearing what my coach says to me, and he would say different things than what you would say to younger kids.”

Even though it’s a bit of a challenge, Edwards says she enjoys what she does.

“I really like coaching the younger kids, because they have a lot more energy. It’s just fun to coach them.”

Edwards described the transition of going from being a competitive swimmer to coaching.

“I don’t see the older kids as much anymore,” Edwards said. “I don’t have quite as much connection to them compared to the younger kids now. I just don’t see them or have as much of a connection with them, but thankfully, I work with a lot of them, so I do still see them.”

Edwards has a lot memories from being on the swim team, including one favorite in particular.

“Every year during the summertime, we do something called the flour relay, where we have a bucket of flour and we have one person go over and try to blow out as much flour as they can and whoever has the most flour out of the bucket wins,” Edwards said. “And everyone would be covered in flour. This year, we dumped the bucket of flour that was left over on the coaches and it was just really fun.”

Transforming into a coaching role has taught Edwards some valuable lessons.

“It’s taught me how to be able to communicate with others because I think I was used to communicating with just my age group,” Edwards said. “Having my coach as my boss, I’ve learned how to communicate with him on a professional platform. Then, with all the kids, I have to learn how to be able to say things so they understand. … It’s made me take things from a different perspective.”

Edwards is planning on attending the University of Sioux Falls and leaning towards going into business.

​She also thinks there is a possibility she might get back into coaching after college.

“I’ve never really thought about coaching somewhere else,” Edwards said. “I think if I come back home after I graduate from college, I think I would coach for the swim club again, but it just depends where college takes me.”

Edwards also has some advice for younger athletes getting into swimming or any other sport.

“Never over do yourself,” Edwards said. “It’s always OK to take a break. I know sometimes sports can put a lot of pressure on you and just get overwhelmed sometimes. But my number one thing is definitely to try and make friends with people, because I think friendships are the biggest thing that you get through sports.”

Edwards has also learned one other valuable life lesson through swimming. “Always look on the bright side of things,” she said. “I personally am a big complainer sometimes. When I don’t like something, I like to complain, but I think having people who told me, ‘Hey, just look on the bright side’ just made things a lot better. So always try and go in with a good attitude.”