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Meet Liberty North’s Coaching Staff: Boys and Girls Swimming and Diving

To say Todd Harvey has this whole starting-a-new-program thing down pat would be an understatement.

When Harvey kicks off the Liberty North boys and girls swimming and diving programs this fall, it will mark the third time in his coaching career that he has taken on such an endeavor. Although he’s confident in the role, Harvey admits this there’s a certain level of excitement working with a new program.

"It’s going to be a little bit different, clearly, because it’s a different town, a different program, a different mindset with the kids," Harvey said. "But at the same time, I feel comfortable stepping into a new program. I know the things that have worked for me and some of the things that haven’t worked for me."

Harvey began building his coaching résumé when he started the swim program at Pleasant Hill High School in the late ’90s. After that, Harvey moved to Park Hill South, where he took over a budding program in year two and turned the Panthers into one of the most dominant boys teams in the Kansas City area.

During Harvey’s 10-year stint at Park Hill South, the Panthers went undefeated in their division of the Suburban Conference. Not only that, Harvey helped produce more than a dozen all-state swimmers, a fourth-place state finish in the fall of 2006, and four National Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association High School All-Americans — Ethan Rose, Colin Livasy, Steven Gardner and Chris Novak.

"I feel like I do very little," Harvey said modestly. "I can write the workout and tell them what to do and get after them when I think they need to work a little harder, but ultimately, they’re the ones that have to do it.

"I can’t swim for them. I can’t hop in the pool and swim with them and pace them. It’s not on me when they’re in the water. It comes down to what they’re going to put into it."

That mentality will carry over to the boys and girls programs as a whole as well. The athletes themselves will ultimately set the bar for the years to come.

"It’s all up to the kids," Harvey said. "We want to be realistic. Can we go out and say we’re going to qualify for state in a couple relays and try to get some individuals qualified this year? Absolutely. The key is we don’t have to do anything. It’s only what we want to do. We don’t have to win. We don’t have to swim fast. When we want to do those things, that’s what I like to see."

Harvey has spent plenty of time in the pool to develop those philosophies.

An all-state caliber swimmer and NISCA All-American in his own right, Harvey swam for Illinois high school powerhouse St. Charles. He continued his competitive career from 1993 to 1997 at the University of Iowa, where he completed a four-year career that included a two-year stint as team captain. Harvey then stayed on with the Hawkeyes for one season as an undergraduate assistant before jumping into the high school ranks.

Sports writer Chris Geinosky can be reached at 389-6654 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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