Swim coach Emily Nightingale gets into the swing of things as she adjusts to life at a new school. Wingspan had the opportunity to talk to her and hear about her experience so far and her plans for the school year.

Wingspan: Coming to a new school, with new co-workers, and new students can be a little overbearing. How are you handle being the “new kid” of the school?

Nightingale: “I ask a lot of questions. The other swim coaches and athletic coordinator have been really great about helping me out. So I just make sure to ask and ask and ask whenever I don’t know the answer.”

Wingspan: Tell us a little bit about yourself. What inspires you? What are your passions?

Nightingale: “I grew up as an athlete, I swam at Lovejoy High School, grew up around this area. I am an extremely competitive person and I love the feeling of learning something new and challenging myself and finding new ways to learn things.”

Wingspan: Is being the Redhawks’ coach your first time at the position?

Nightingale: “This is my first high school coaching job, I used to coach club swimming in New Mexico.”

Wingspan: How do the two differ?

Nightingale: “I have never taught before, so this is my first time teaching. But the two states are very different in that athletics in Texas is so competitive in contrast to New Mexico, where it was all fun and relaxed.”

Wingspan: How do you plan on continuing the legacy of the swimming team? Are there any changes that you plan to make?

Nightingale: “We have a great team this year. We have really strong boys, and we’re really focusing on strengthening our women’s team because it’s so young. They have done such a great job in the past, so I feel that I’m coming into such an easy spot and I don’t have to try too hard and build our team up from nothing.”

Wingspan: Tell me a little bit about your personal life, your life outside of school.

Nightingale: “My parents live in Rockwall, and my sister works in Dallas ISD, and my aunt and uncle live in Lucas, so I pretty much have family all around. Every weekend, I drive to my parents house and stay with them. My mom and sister are both teachers so they have been really helpful with my new teacher questions.”

Wingspan: Has having close family members playing the same role as you, in teaching, been beneficial?

Nightingale: “They have definitely been my support system through this new transition. I think I talk to them for about an hour or so everyday after school and tell them about problems I’m having and they can usually answer my questions pretty well.”

Wingspan: How was growing up with a mom as a teacher? Did it make school easier or more pressuring

Nightingale: “She was definitely a lot harder on me. She expected a lot better of my grades because she knew I couldn’t make the “the teacher doesn’t like me” or “it was really hard” excuses because she knew all the teachers and the classes.”

Wingspan: Do you think it benefited you in the long run, as a coach and as an individual?

Nightingale: “Yes, definitely. I don’t settle for mediocrity, if that’s the best way to put it. I think it taught me to always strive, to be the best person I can be.”

Wingspan: Who would you say are your coaching role models? Those who you strive to be like and follow in their footsteps.

Nightingale: “I have two role models. The first one is my college coach, Rick Pratt, he was truly amazing. He was like a father to me, I love the way he coached and I strive to be like him every day. My other coaching inspiration is Brent Mitchell, he coaches at Allen High School, and I swam club under him. Him and Rick are just the tops to me, I think that they are the best coaches in the world and I strive to be like them everyday.”

Wingspan: How is sharing a natatorium with the rest of the FISD swim teams?

Nightingale: “There are nine swim teams in the district, five of us practice in the morning while the other four practice in the afternoons. We divide the pool between the teams; we’re super fortunate to have a big pool. They have coordinated it where every day, each team has a certain amount of lane space and surprisingly it really works out. I thought it was weird, and remember thinking “man, I’m going to have to practice next to my competition”, because our district meet is made up of all the Frisco coaches but everybody is really good friends and yeah we’re competitive but it’s a really good atmosphere.”

Wingspan: What advice would you give to incoming freshmen that struggle with the decision of choosing a sport to commit to in their high school career?

Nightingale: “I would go with something that you are comfortable with doing, like don’t join swimming if you don’t know how to swim, something with how competitive sports are in Texas that you would be able to practice outside of school or in a club setting. To be in athletics, especially in FISD, you’ve got to be a very good athlete, unless you’re on JV or a freshman team.”

Wingspan: Describe your role as a coach and motivator for your team? How are you going to get your swimmers to buy into their role on the team?

Nightingale: “My role as a coach is to help build kids, help them learn something new, shape them to become the people that they want to be later in life. To me, it doesn’t really matter if they win or lose, it’s about what can I teach them and how can I help them be wonderful people.”