Zachary Shattuck is a current member of the U.S. Paralympic Swimming National Team and this year became the head coach for the Greenbelt Barracudas swim team.
Teaching Enjoyment
Though Shattuck wants his team members to perform to their best ability, he also believes it should be an enjoyable experience. “The most important thing about being a swim coach is that you never want to be their last swim coach,” Shattuck explained. He would never want to be the reason that someone leaves the team or the sport. “I just want all those kids to keep enjoying the sport, fall in love with it, have some fun as they do it and hopefully continue to grow and improve as swimmers and as kids,” Shattuck said.
A Return to Greenbelt
Shattuck has spent the last four years as a coach. He began coaching at the University of Mary Washington where he was an assistant coach for two years, then began coaching at club and local level teams. “Greenbelt’s one of the most unique places, maybe ever,” Shattuck said. He was born in Greenbelt and moved away when he was 6 years old. Since he has been back, he noticed that everyone is connected in some way and that Greenbelt is different from almost any other community.
College Swimming
Shattuck was first inspired to begin competing as a swimmer at Frostburg State University. “I actually didn’t start swimming until I was 18 and I got to college, but it was the opportunity to compete with other athletes who had physical disabilities like myself,” he explained. He has a rare form of dwarfism but competed alongside athletes that had a variety of different physical disabilities.
International Competition
Shattuck continued swimming after college and is now a member of the U.S. Paralympic Swimming National Team. He competed in Tokyo in 2020 in the Paralympic Games. His favorite events to compete in are the 100-meter breaststroke and the 200-meter individual medley.
“It was an unbelievable experience. I’ve gotten to compete with some of the best athletes in the world, I’ve gotten to train and travel around the world for different events and competitions,” he shared. He then said that his biggest takeaway from traveling for swimming was that “You never really know someone else’s story.”
Rebecca Redeker is a journalism student at the University of Maryland writing for the News Review.