Swim coaches win community honors
Coastal Athletic Association Commissioner Joe D’Antonio presented Joey Stickle and Jihan Minson with the CAA Cares Community Award earlier this month at the Hampton Virginia Aquaplex.
The award recognizes those who have made a positive impact within their community or on the campus of a CAA institution.
Stickle is a longtime advocate for competitive swimming in Virginia. He has led Hampton’s Kecoughtan High School swim team since 2004 and is the organizer of the Kecoughtan Invitational Meet, which has been held each year for more than three decades, according to an association news release.
Stickle has highlighted the benefits of competitive swimming at Hampton City Council meetings, participated in the Hampton Virginia Aquaplex stakeholder committee and spoke at both the groundbreaking and opening.
Minson has been a SwimAmerica instructor since she was 15 years old. She joined the Coast Guard Blue Dolphins in 2006 as head development coach. When CGBD started SwimAmerica Lessons, Minson assumed the role of site supervisor.
Minson is the Virginia Swimming Board of Directors chair for diversity, equity and inclusion, which works to foster an inclusive environment at all levels of the sport of competitive swimming.
Minson also coordinated the Hampton Virginia Aquaplex Learn to Swim program for second graders in partnership with Hampton schools.
Now in its second year, the program serves to introduce children to swimming at an early age, instilling early confidence and love of the sport.