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"If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea." - Antoine de Saint Exupéry

• Research Interests
  Coach Development, Coach Education, Volunteer Coaches, The Professionalization of Youth Sport
• Teaching & Education

  Doctor of Philosophy in Coaching & Teaching Studies
  West Virginia University
  Morgantown, West Virginia
  2025

  Dissertation Title: Youth Sport Organizational Leaders’ Perceived Strengths and Challenges Working with Volunteer Coaches: A Case Study

  Master of Science in Sport & Exercise Psychology
  Ball State University
  Muncie, Indiana
  2022

  Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science & Sport Ministry
  Indiana Wesleyan University
  Marion, Indiana
  2020

   

• Professional Experience

  Since 2020, I have worked as a Mental Performance Consultant, partnering with NCAA Division I, II, and III athletes as well as professional sports teams to help them strengthen their mental skills and optimize performance. I am currently completing the required hours to apply for my Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC) credential through the Association for Applied Sport Psychology later this year.

  From 2022 to 2025, I served as a Graduate Teaching and Research Assistant at West Virginia University, where I taught a variety of undergraduate courses and led a research project through the Millions Coaches Challenge.

  My coaching journey began in 2019 as a Head Soccer Club Coach for U12–U14 girls’ teams, an experience that sparked my passion for developing athletes both on and off the field and continues to influence my work today.

• Selected Publications

  Read, D., Dieffenbach, K., & Swartz, H. (2026). Developing Coaches to Develop Athletes: A Coach Developer Model for Long-Term Athlete Development in Community Hockey. Quest, 1–23.

  Swartz, H. S., Dieffenbach, K., & Swisher, A. (2025). Creating Community to Support Youth Sport Coach Development. Quest, 1–22.

• Selected Awards Received

  Ball State University – Korsgaard Outstanding Graduate Student Award
  2022

  Indiana Wesleyan University – Philippians 2 Athletic Award
  2020

  NAIA – Champion of Character Award
  2019

  Indiana Wesleyan University – Leah Whittaker Sports Ministry Scholarship
  2017, 2018

• My Story

  From the time I could talk, I was endlessly curious—always asking “why?” about everything. My parents will tell you I drove them half-crazy with my questions, but that hunger to understand the world never went away. I loved discovering how things worked, learning new ideas, and exploring the “why” behind them.

  But over time, I came to a humbling realization: all the knowledge in the world could not save me. That truth brought me to knowing and loving Christ—the Creator and Sustainer of all that exists and the source of all that there is to know.

  My love for both learning and sport eventually led me into coaching. At first, I imagined my path would take me to the sidelines as a collegiate coach. But as I grew in experience, I recognized that my reach would be limited to only the athletes I personally coached. That realization shifted my vision. I wanted to impact more lives by developing coaches—essentially, by “coaching coaches.”

  My desire for the coaches I work with is the same conviction that shapes my own life: that we cannot separate Christ from knowledge, even in the realm of sport and competition. When we bring them together, we not only pursue excellence—we are able to enjoy sport in its truest and fullest sense.

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