LAKE ASBURY - Carol MacDougall brought swimming to Clay High School in 1993, then popped in and out of the scene over the past 35 years with stops in Pensacola and at the University of North Florida. Along the way, the wily veteran of the deck who was hands-on to do just about everything needed to move a day-long swim meet to finish, MacDougall has had her share of big names listening to her whistle blasting in the echo chamber of most swim venues.
On Monday, at the Clay High swim banquet for 2024, MacDougall announced she was stepping down to retire and get her camper on the go.
"Clay didn't have a team and I was working with a gal at Middleburg High named Laura Devore (Now Laura Campbell and former swim coach at Fleming Island High and numerous YMCAs), but kids from Middleburg High wanted to swim and the district boundary changes kept them from swimming at Middleburg," said MacDougall, who swam at Sarasota High School and the internationally renowned Sarasota Sharks with former University of Florida swim coach Gregg Troy (in 1963), who later coached a disciple of MacDougall's Clay tenure named Caeleb Dressel. "I've been coaching since 1990 and have coached one of the best ever swimmers in the history of the sport."
MacDougall and husband Bruce "Mac" got married, got Navy orders to Jacksonville, and took a job as assistant aquatics director at UNF before finding Troy at Bolles and getting an age group coaching gig.
With her daughter Melissa born in 1992, MacDougall took her first break and left UNF but stayed at Bolles for another three years.
MacDougall, who coached with Justin Faulkner in the Dressels era, acknowledged that her 2013 group of four as she calls them; Dressel, Dakota Mahaffey, Grady Heath, and Matt Bonna, were the highlight of her coaching when the Blue Devils sent five guys to state and finished second team overall with state titles in the 200 and 400 free relays plus individual golds for Dressel in the 200 free and 100 butterfly. Dressel, Mahaffey (second in 100 back), and Heath (11th in 100 free) all three eventually swam at the University of Florida after swimming for the vaunted Bolles Age Group Swim Club team for numerous summers.
"That group of guys were special of course with Caeleb the leader, but the other four were just as outstanding," said MacDougall, noting Dressel's Olympic and World titles and world records. "Five guys getting fifth at state as a team was a feat that no one will probably ever see again. Caeleb never talked about his stuff, but about being friends with his Blue Devil team."
MacDougall's tenure included Fleming Island High being built to move the Clay High team from Eagle Harbor's pool to Magnolia Point Golf Course's pool, then presently to Rolling Hills in Lake Asbury.
One swimmer MacDougall considered her favorite athlete to come to the team with no advance training and make it to the state meet was Josh Spivey.
"He made finals at state in 50 free," said MacDougall. "He was just raw talent didn't know anything about the sport."
MacDougall's favorite female swim story was for state champion Sara Stotler, who is presently swimming for the University of Tennessee. MacDougall did coach the Dressel sibling sisters; Sherridon and Kaitlyn, who both earned state titles while at Clay.
MacDougall, who also puts on most of the kids' fun runs for the Florida Striders, plans to spend time with her grandson, Miles Alexander, and sister Jan in the camper.
"One thing I'm not going to miss is being on the pool deck for practices every day," said MacDougall. "I'll probably stick around during swim season and help out at the meets and work out at the YMCA."