When an athlete enters the office of Director of Aquatics, Assistant Athletic Director, Head Swim Coach, and Assistant Water Polo Coach Sean Hansen, they will meet two comments. The first comment, without failure, is a clever shot at the athlete’s current appearance or mood. The second comment, also without failure, is a caring question about how the athlete is doing and if he can do anything for them.
Although “Sean”—as Coach Hansen is known to most swimmers—is obviously quite busy throughout the school day, he makes time for his swimming and water polo team members whenever they stop by his office. Which, by the way, is quite often.
On any given day, at almost any given time, if you were to stop into Sean’s office off the side of the pool deck in the McQuillen Pool, you would find several athletes entrenched in deep conversation.
While Sean’s willingness to spend time with his swimmers is a great gesture, it is not what makes time in his office special. His ability to connect with his athletes stands alone.
The aforementioned “shots” that Sean takes at his athletes may at first seem slightly cruel to an unfamiliar face, but every swimmer knows that his quips come from a place of love.
The sarcastic atmosphere he creates in the office is carried on by swimmers elsewhere. When offering a “nice” comment, Sixth Form water polo player Luke Fesnak responded, “Something nice? Give me a week to think.”
Fielding a similar question about Sean’s influence on his students, Sixth Former swimmer and water polo player Alec DeLuca said, “Sean has given me some of my favorite one liners, while at the same time making each interaction beneficial to my development as a person.”
Although Sean is most frequently sarcastic, he knows when it is important to help an athlete out with a life lesson. If a group of athletes is sitting in his office ,and he notices an important opportunity to step in with some wisdom, Sean won’t hesitate to shut his laptop, spin his chair around, and put his feet up on his desk in order to drop some knowledge.
“Life is all about how you treat people. If you give them respect, kindness, and keep the mood light, they will want to do the same for you.”
Coach Sean Hansen
Conversations with Sean circle back to one main message: “Life is all about how you treat people. If you give them respect, kindness, and keep the mood light, they will want to do the same for you.”
A couple of months ago at The Easterns Swimming and Diving Championships, the swim team had just arrived at the Franklin and Marshall pool, preparing to hop in and warm up. As a swimmer was struggling to pull his tight race suit up, he heard a small rip. His eyes widened as he knew this was his only suit and he had about 40 minutes until race time.
He quickly pulled the suit back down and ran out of the locker room straight to Sean to ask what he thought he should do. Sean responded, “Come with me.”
The swimmer followed Sean out of the pool area to the small shop that had been set up with swim gear for the meet. Sean asked the man working the counter, “Are there any discounts that you offer to attractive folks?” The man chuckled and gave him a 15% discount on a $300 racing suit for the swimmer. Sean did not hesitate to put his own credit card down.
This story highlights each of the values that Sean sees as crucial. Not only does he fully believe that the way you treat people is the way that people will respond to you, but he also fully embodies the idea. His office is such a special place because it is a living environment of how he lives his life.
“Nobody cares, work harder” and “Have fun”: some of the many values that Sean instills into the minds of his swimmers. He makes his athletes more complete young men.
At the beginning of every swim season, Sean highlights his two rules to all of his athletes. Number 1: Don’t break the law. Number 2: Don’t post stupid stuff on social media. These words are posted on the wall of his office. In 23 years of coaching experience at Haverford, he thinks these two points of emphasis work most effectively to keep his athletes eligible to swim.
Although the tone of these rules can come off as somewhat harsh, swimmers take them seriously. IOn some teammate nights out, someone will jokingly say, “Hey man, remember the two rules.” These interactions are lighthearted, but the words are meaningful because they came from a man so highly respected.
Posted on the bulletin board in his office, directly adjacent to the rules, is a photo of each senior class of swimmers dating back at least fifteen years. The class of 2024 will soon be added to the wall, cementing its spot in the office for many years to come.
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