Ana Gabriela "Gabby" Matthews

Sometimes a summer job turns into a long-term commitment. Such is the case with Gabby Matthews, who initially intended to work only one summer in Georgia at the Swim Camp for the Athens Bulldogs Swim Club. After she decided to do volunteer work for a state swim team, the summer quickly turned into six months. Before she knew it, she was working as an assistant university swim coach in Athens. Now, as Brenau Swimming Coach, she has become the first woman in the history of Brazil to achieve a head position at the collegiate level.

“I like organization,” Gabby says. As a graduate student in organizational leadership, her work with athletics teams comes naturally to her. “My first degree was in physical education, but I realized that in order to train entire teams, you have to have more. So now I’m doing a lot of studying and research work in management. It’s always been my dream to teach something connected with swimming, and to coach on a professional level.

Combining the two is providing a very good base of knowledge for that.” In her spare time, swimming isn’t off the calendar for Gabby. Groups of children ages 5 months to 14 years have come to depend on her for swimming lessons. “Older kids, in their early teens, are actually faster learners than adults,” says Gabby. “Keeping their attention can be a challenge, and I’ve had to deal with some minor discipline problems, but once they get to know you, it works pretty well.” Her experience in management, fitness, and organization is showing its benefits to the Brenau Golden Tigers swim team. “Our goal is to have all team members go to Nationals. We’ll work patiently but persistently to see them all reaching this level of performance.” With a coach who has a knack for organization, plus an emphatic “I love swimming!” at the end of every interview, it looks like it won’t be long until the Tigers reach their goal.

email: amatthews@brenau.edu

Phone:
770.534.6230