By Mercer Reed

Michael J. Stott has been a part of the Collegiate Swim Program for 15 years, and even after his retirement at the end of last swim season, he continues to have an impact on the program. Stott took the job as head coach of the swim team in November 2002, back before the Collegiate School Aquatics Center was built. Stott had experience coaching a full team before Collegiate, as he had coached soccer for 20 years prior to swimming. He passed the program down to the current head coach, Mike Peters, at the end of last season.

Stott is well known throughout the Collegiate athletics community, given the success that the team attained during his coaching career. Under Stott, the girls swim team won six state championships and eight LIS championships. The girls team did not finish below second place in LIS, as they were the runner-up LIS team seven times. The men’s team won three state championships and four Prep League championships. Stott coached five female all-Americans and 18 male all-Americans. He coached the boys to a 118-58-2 dual meet record, and he led the girls team to an impressive 222-15 record. He was also named the VISAA coach of the year in 2007 and 2008. Stott has also been part of the success at Southampton, a local summer swim club. He plays a large role in planning the championship meet over the summer for the James River Aquatic Club.

During his coaching career, Stott was well known for his precise organization of swim meets and the team as a whole. When asked why he was so focused on organization behind the scenes, he said, “It helped things run more smoothly. It helped the parents and gave the athletes a path to run on, as they have set their own expectations.” While many coaches do not make the competition schedule for their team’s season by themselves, Stott did. He made the meet schedule for his teams, as it gave him more control over the choice of competition. He would create the schedule based on the talent of the team that particular season, saying “it allowed us to be more competitive with other teams further than the Richmond area.”

Stott truly loved the team, but decided to retire after the 2016-17 season, as “I felt it was time for a new voice for the varsity team. I knew what Mike could do, he was an excellent coach.” He felt that he had been with the swim team long enough, saying “it was time for a new voice, a younger voice. I would not have been nearly as willing to step aside had their not been as good a person to take my job as the head coach. [Peters] was better than most of the coaches around the league.” Looking back on his time as a coach, Stott remembers the tough times in practices and meets but knows that it was all worth it in the end.

Stott made an impact on every swimmer that he coached. Annie Mahoney (‘19) spoke highly of Stott, saying “I was nervous for swimming, but he encouraged the older swimmers to interact with the younger swimmers, so because of his influence, I got to know the team better, and it made for a more enjoyable and meaningful season overall. He was so organized and knew where everyone was supposed to be at all times, even as precise as the specific time of the National Anthem, usually starting at 6:58. He spent so much time focusing on the team and made sure that it ran smoothly.”

Zach Cram (‘19) pointed out Stott’s attention to detail during practices. He helped Cram, a year-round swimmer, perfect his strokes and improve his form and turns. He said, “Stott individually helped out swimmers and was happy to do this at any time. He cared about each swimmer, something that as a year-round swimmer, my coaches cannot usually do because they coach so many people.”

Stott still watches almost every Collegiate swim meet to support the team that he devoted so much of his time to. He says, “I want to be a part of the team from a distance. I love swimming, I love Collegiate. Swimming is important to me, and I like to see the team succeed.” At the LIS and Preps meet in the 2017-18 season, he watched the boys team win the meet and the girls come in second place. He watched the boys team place second at states and the girls place third. Stott’s legacy with the Collegiate swim program will be forever remembered, as he grew the team into a very successful group of swimmers who are on the prowl for a state championship year after year.

Stott (far right) pictured with the 2017-18 men’s Prep League winning team. Photo credit: Frank Moore.