Marshall University Athletics
MCGILL: Walsh's fit at Marshall is a dream professionally, personally
11/22/2018 2:45:00 PM | Women's Swimming and Diving, Word on the Herd
Herd's new swimming and diving coach was introduced Oct. 24
By Chuck McGill
HerdZone.com
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Ian Walsh has no shortage of reasons to give thanks these days.
The 30-year-old was announced Oct. 24 as Marshall University's new swimming and diving coach, replacing Bill Tramel, for whom Walsh was previously an assistant for three seasons here in Huntington.
On June 12, Ian and his wife of more than two years, Sarah Walsh, welcomed their first child into the world. At the time Ella June was born, Ian was an assistant coach at the University of Buffalo after spending about 18 months as an assistant at the University of California in Berkeley. Ian had left Marshall for Cal, but the move west was challenging for the young couple. Family, you see, is near and dear to their hearts. Ian grew up in northeast Pennsylvania and swam collegiately at Duquesne. Sarah is from Huntington, attended Spring Valley High School and cheered for Marshall.
Ian and Sarah met right here in Huntington, and now they're back with an addition to their little Herd family.
"I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason," Ian said. "My wife is from Huntington. This is where we met. When I was contacted (about the job) … I had to jump on it. Not only from a professional standpoint because I've always wanted to be a Division I head coach, but also a personal standpoint because I could bring my wife back home."
Ian has had a busy first month on the job. The Herd was without a head coach for approximately a month, and missed on valuable developmental time. That has led Ian to adjust the team's goal for the near term while he works with them to establish a plan for the long term. A school record-holder at Duquesne, Ian is not bashful about setting the bar high.
"When I came to Marshall the first time, it was great," Ian said. "The first year we were dead last in the conference, but at the end of my final year as an assistant we were 20 points out of second place and we had a recruiting class coming in that was going to be a game-changer.
"My motto coming back is there's some unfinished business. Coming in here I saw some familiar faces and some promises I wanted to keep."
Ian departed Marshall in the spring of 2016, so the freshmen then are seniors now. This year's group of seniors were part of the incoming recruiting class that held so much potential.
"Typically, in swimming, from the start of school until Thanksgiving break – that's really heavy training," Ian said. "That's where you build a foundation. We knew we were behind the 8 ball from a training standpoint, so this year is going to look really different. I told them to trust the plan and don't look at where you want to be in a couple of weeks, but where we want to be in February."
Ian received his start in coaching as a graduate assistant at Division II Bloomsburg, a small school in central Pennsylvania.
"That's where I got the coaching bug," he said.
The opportunity at Cal – one of the top swim programs in the country – prompted Ian to say goodbye to Huntington, albeit temporarily. During the coaching stint, Ian and Sarah realized the distance from family and their desire to start a family were paramount. The couple, who married on Sept. 3, 2016, shared a dream of a day when their family would grow, immediate family would be near and Ian could achieve his dream of being a Division I head coach.
Fittingly, the roads led back to Marshall.
"She has family in Huntington, Kenova, Ceredo and Prichard," Ian said. "Everyone is pretty much within a 30-minute radius. Family is huge for me – that's the reason we moved back east."
Ian has made that clear to the Herd swimmers and divers, too. This is about family; this is about being there and doing it for one another.
"We need to trust each other," Ian said. "We don't want to swim with each other, but for each other. That mindset has set the tone."
Chuck McGill is the Assistant Athletic Director for Fan/Donor Engagement and Communications at Marshall University and a six-time winner of the National Sports Media Association West Virginia Sportswriter of the Year award. In addition to HerdZone.com's Word on the Herd, McGill is the editor of Thundering Herd Illustrated, Marshall's official athletics publication. Follow him on Twitter (@chuckmcgill) and Instagram (wordontheherd).
