Kathleen Cahill, Coach 1988-2018: Swimming & Diving

Kathleen Cahill was the Head Coach of Swimming & Diving at Brewer High School for three decades from 1988 to 2018 making her, at the time of her induction, the longest-tenured Head Coach of any sport in school history.  Cahill became interested in teaching swimming technique/coaching from her experience as an upper-level swim instructor on the waterfront of Camp Jordan where she had a knack of teaching the butterfly.  She taught swimming of all abilities during high school at the Bangor-Brewer YWCA and through college at the Dover Seacoast YMCA, NH while her college summers were spent as lead-lifeguard in Acadia National Park.  After a brief stint as an assistant swim coach with the Hurricane Swim Club of Bangor, Cahill began coaching the Brewer Swim Team in 1988.  When Cahill took over the swim program, inheriting only five girls and no boys, she was tasked by the administration to offer a quality program while increasing the number of participants on the swim team.  After several weeks of creative recruiting, the swim team began its season under Cahill with 17 girls and 12 boys and grew to 68 members by the end of the millennium. 

Over the years, Cahill taught hundreds of athletes how to swim and trained them to be competitive at the regional and state level and beyond.  Her success as a coach was due to her emphasis on not only proper technique but her holistic approach to coaching. She has an extensive knowledge in sports nutrition and sports psychology and a passion for coaching the psychological side of sport: focus, facing adversity/fear, bouncing back after setbacks, achieving peak performance, etc.  Cahill ensured season after season that her swimmers and divers were armed with the tools to develop into mentally tough athletes in order to reach their fullest potential.  Known for her motivational speeches, Cahill always found unique ways to inspire and assist her athletes in finding the magic within…that inner power to overcome adversity and perform phenomenal feats not only in the pool but in life.  For over 25 years, her legendary pre-state meet psych up “Magic Speech”, with Cahill and staff dressed as Witches, was a season highlight her athletes looked forward to year after year.   

One of the highlights of Cahill’s professional career was in 2002 when she was selected to carry the Olympic Torch for the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.  Nominated by her husband Kevin Nelson, Cahill was one of a select group of torchbearers chosen based on their ability to inspire others to greater achievement and their ability to motivate others by encountering and overcoming adversity.  She dedicated her Olympic Torch Run to the two people who inspired her the most: her mother Sarah, who died of cancer in the winter of 1989 during Cahill’s first season as Brewer’s Head Swim Coach, and Dennis Kiah (2017 Brewer Athletic Hall of Fame Inductee), Brewer’s long-time Athletic Director who was battling cancer at the time of her run.  

Cahill has inspired hundreds of athletes to uncover their potential in the pool and her athletes have achieved remarkable success at the conference, state and New England level.  She trained countless PVC and State All-Stars and numerous individual swimming and diving PVC Champions as well as hundreds of State and New England finalists including five-time state champion and three-time New England Champion/record holder, Jessica Hodsdon (2016 Brewer Athletic Hall of Fame Inductee).  Under Cahill’s leadership, 17 females and 22 males set new Brewer school records as well as PVC and New England Records.  With sportsmanship always being at the heart of Coach Cahill’s teams, she was immensely proud of her men’s team earning the Maine Principals’ Association Sportsmanship Award at the 2003 Class A State Championship.  She fostered an atmosphere of family on deck, providing a space for athletes to come together to be part of a team regardless of their ability.  Alongside her Brewer swimmers and divers, Cahill also coached Hampden Academy swimmers for 16 years until Hampden formed its own team in 2005 as well as Bucksport for 6 years.

Cahill served as a Meet Director for the Men’s/Women's PVC Championship for over 26 years and served as the PVC Swim Facilitator developing the master swim schedule and organizing the PVC Swimming & Diving Championships.  Coach Cahill was honored to serve as the Maine Representative to the National Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association (NISCA) for three years until her retirement in 2018.  She has served as past Secretary and President for the Maine Interscholastic Swim League (MISL) as well as chaired numerous committees.  Cahill authored the Coaches’ Handbook in 2014 for new Maine High School Swim Coaches. She also compiled the history of the Brewer Swimming & Diving program from its inception in 1974 to 2018 published on the swim team’s website.

Cahill has received several honors over her career, most notably: Two-time Maine State Swim Coach of the Year, 2018 PVC Coach of the Year, recipient of the Class A & B State Meet Dedications by the Maine Principals’ Association in 2006 and recipient of MISL’s Phil Emery Spirit of the Sport Award in 2019. In 2015, Coach Cahill was recognized nationally when she was awarded the prestigious Outstanding Service Award by NISCA for which her name is inscribed at the International Swimming Hall of Fame in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  

Coach Cahill also has been a member of the Brewer Athletic Hall of Fame Committee since its inception in 2013.  She serves as the Induction Banquet Coordinator, the Brewer Sports Historical Sub-Committee Chairperson and the Hall of Fame Secretary.  In every task she undertakes, she embodies extraordinary preparation, maintains exceptionally high standards, and evokes a positive spirit such that each student who has been fortunate to call her “Coach” has experienced a blueprint for their own future success as an individual and productive citizen.

Kathleen Cahill retired from coaching in 2018 to explore the country RV-style with her husband Kevin and German Shepherd, Ruby Blue.  Cahill splits her time between Maine and the Pacific Northwest.  

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE INDUCTION AND ACCEPTANCE SPEECH OF KATHLEEN CAHILL

Kathleen Cahill and her presenter Kelly Gehman Dionne