Ms. Long Profile

In it for the long haul

Head Girls’ Swim Coach Katelyn Long leads to the team to athird place win at state.

ELLA CUNEO | EDITOR IN CHIEF MAX HAGEMEISTER | NEWS SECTION EDITOR

Long hugging Assistant Coach Jill Allen after winning the Suburban Red Conference.

PHOTO FROM KATELYN LONG

Clayton High School math teacher and Head girls’ swim Coach Katelyn Long was soaked head-to-toe after cannonballing into the pool in celebration of the swim team’s undefeated season. But this display of Long’s level of dedication was of very little surprise to anyone. Showing up to her math classes with blue and orange painted nails on conference meet days and cannonballs are just part of the impact Long has been able to make on the team.

Long moved to St. Louis right before she started eighth grade and attended Marquette High School.

“I didn’t know anybody and joining the swim team became my little community,” said Long. After winning state in her sophomore year of high school, Long was recruited by the University of Iowa and swam throughout college.

Beginning her coaching career in 2005 at CHS, Long aimed to create the community she experienced during her high school years.

“[I just want to] make sure that we have a place where athletes can be challenged but also supported at the same time. That’s always been my number one priority. Everybody in this pool is at a different place, a different stage, and we’re creating opportunities for them to be challenged. I’m here to help them do this. Let’s do her team is doing so she understands [if] we are not having a good practice.”

Murdoch also credits her team’s success to the increase in camaraderie that is caused by Long’s coaching, “I personally have never felt a strong connection [with anyone] like I do with Mrs. Long now. The team spirit grew exponentially from last season to this season and even from the beginning of this season to the end. [We have] such a fun group of girls and our coaching staff is so supportive. I think her support and upbeat personality have definitely aided us in our undefeated season this year.”

While hard work is valued, Long has also created a fun community for the swimmers. “For the most part, for all the swimmers, all the coaches, you can tell that this is the bright spot of the day, and we all really like being here,” said Long. “One day we were practicing and it was December, so it was freezing out. It was so cold. And we looked at the windows and it was the brightest pink, orange, crazy sunset.” Noticing the girls leaning out of the pool to see the sunset, Long decided to “pretend we’re in Florida and take pictures outside.”

Unfortunately, when they opened the door, the alarms went off all around the pool. Not knowing what to do or how to turn it off, the team ran through the door and took photos with the sunset.

Laughing about the craziness of the situation, Long said, “It’s stuff like that that you just have to do. Spontaneous stuff that comes up and it’s in the moment.”

Looking forward to next year, Long hopes that the leadership from the captains continues to trickle down and the positive attitudes and fun keep going.

“Something I have learned from is to do your best and that is all you can do,” said Murdoch. “On days when I didn’t want to go to practice or swim in a hard event, Mrs. Long was always there to remind me to swim my hardest and that I can only do what I can do and to only worry about what I can control.”

Ultimately, Long leads her swimmers hoping that the community will make a difference in their lives. When considering the one thing she hopes her swimmers take out of the team, Long said, “surround yourself with good people. Especially when you’re trying to do something hard, or something that’s challenging, having positive people and people who are going to support you makes all the difference.”

this,” Long said. “It was so life changing for me, this sport. I can see a lot of things now, later in life, my relationships, and my career that I can tie back to skills I learned from swimming. So it’s just really important to me that they have this [and] the right environment to do it.”

Long also wishes to offer positive female encouragement to her swimmers. Having had two children since she began coaching, Long aims to show her swimmers that being a mom, a teacher, and a coach can all be possible even when you have a lot on your plate.

“It is really important that females see that you can have kids and continue to do what’s important to you. And now, it’s so important to me that my daughter sees that I’m doing this,” said Long.

The girls’ swim and dive team went undefeated this year, earning third at state in the 20212022 season. Long attributes a lot of their wins to the hard-working and dedicated girls on her team and having strong captains, seniors Katie Murdoch and Kellen Mottl, who have been able to pass down their skills to the newer swimmers.

This respect is a two-way street.

“Whenever we get to practice right after school,” said Murdoch, “Mrs. Long is always interested in how our days went and if we struggled or had a good day. She gets a gauge of how