Clemens Community Pool needs a new director and the Philomath High School swim program needs a new coach following the resignation of Daniel Mikula, Athletic Director Tony Matta said.
The pool appears to be operating as usual, although it was closed earlier this week for maintenance. Lap swimming and aquafit classes typically operate during the morning hours during the week, along with some open and lap swimming in the early evening.
“I don’t think currently that the pool hours are affected,” Matta said Wednesday. “The district is actively looking to fill that pool supervisor role and hopefully it won’t impact hours.”
Mikula took over as the pool director in the fall of 2020 and served as head coach of the swim program for two seasons — the pandemic-delayed season of 2020-21 and the regularly-timed season of 2021-22. Iliana Kaiser served as assistant coach last season.
“I think they did a great job and it’s a matter of continuing that progress,” Matta said about the coaching staff that had been in place.
Although Mikula handled the responsibilities of both positions — he’s actually still helping with supervision of the pool until he begins a new job at Crescent Valley — that doesn’t necessarily mean the next person will do the same.
“It depends on who’s interested,” Matta said. “In this case, it worked out for Daniel in terms of his certifications.”
Mikula’s departure also impacts Philomath Academy — he had been working there as a language arts teacher. Principal Dan Johnson said the school is beginning the process of interviewing candidates this week.
As for the PHS swim coach job, the next one to fill those shoes will be the school’s fourth since the 2018-19 season.
“It’s one of the tougher coaching positions to fill,” Matta said about the availability of swim coach candidates. “I think we were pretty lucky that we got Daniel and actually in the pool that he was in, there were a couple of other good candidates. Sometimes they fall in your lap and you take it and run.”
