Longest tenured Cardinal coach ready for next challenge

The sports rivalry between Newton and Pella runs deep. But at the Newton YMCA, swimmers from both schools have no problem sharing the deep end.

Sarah Patterson created such an inclusive environment within the girls’ swimming program that even athletes from rival schools can co-exist.

“We have never had a problem,” former NCMP head swimming coach Sarah Patterson said. “In 30 years, the issue of ‘she’s from here or there’ has never come up. Not one time. I have never had a Newton-Pella issue.”

The Newton-Colfax-Mingo-Pella Aquagirl brand was created by Patterson a few years into her tenure as head coach.

That brand is being handed off to someone else this offseason though as Patterson will retire from teaching and coaching when the school year ends later this year.

She came to the community more than 30 years ago after moving to Iowa to swim collegiately at Iowa State University.

Patterson grew up in White Fish Bay, Wisc., which is a northern suburb of Milwaukee. Both her parents hailed from Iowa and her grandparents remained in Iowa while they lived in Wisconsin.

Patterson’s first and only teaching job was at Newton High School. She taught English and writing in the same classroom for 32 years. She walked up the same small set of stairs and walked through the same door for 32 years.

“I can’t imagine a more rewarding job,” Patterson said. “People often don’t know if they make a difference in a regular job. But in teaching and coaching, you have the chance to make a difference every day.

“It’s gone so fast. I can’t even wrap my mind around it. It doesn’t seem like it was that long. Retirement seems like a weird word because I feel like I have so much life left to live. It’s kind of surreal.”

Because Patterson is retiring from teaching after this school year, she has to be done coaching for at least six months. That means someone else will be guiding the Aquagirls this fall and likely beyond.

Patterson had an interest in staying on with the boys’ program but decided against it after learning she couldn’t officially return to coaching until January.

“I thought about continuing to coach the boys, but I was told I couldn’t coach until January,” Patterson said. “At that point, it was a sign and that was it. I think I would have tried to come back and coach the boys if I was able to. Doing it for one year wasn’t enough. We had so much fun.

“It feels natural to be done, to be honest. But I’m not ruling anything out in the future.”

Patterson has no idea how she will occupy the time moving forward. She loved her time as a teacher and coach but is ready to slow things down.

The combination of teaching and coaching for 32 years has been a grind. It’s like having two full-time jobs some days.

During the swim season, her days started at 4:30 a.m. Her Sundays also were super busy.

“I want to slow down. The combination of teaching and coaching for 32 years feels more like 40 years. That’s why I need to be done,” Patterson said. “When I found out I could retire, I immediately wanted to. It’s not that I don’t like the job or the kids or the people. I love it all. I am going to miss it. But I also feel like it’s the right time to do something else.

“I really love teaching. I just don’t want to do the grind anymore.”

She began her professional career teaching freshmen and sophomore English. She eventually added AP writing for juniors and seniors and was a long-time ninth-grade at-risk teacher, too.

Besides her 32 years as a swim coach in the district, Patterson also coached high school track and field for one season, was on the wrestling coaching staff for one year and spent two seasons as an assistant soccer coach in the 1990s.

Patterson started out as the girls’ assistant swim coach and then she added assistant boys’ swim coach in her second year. She became the girls’ head swim coach in her third season and was easily the longest-tenured coach in the district before she decided to move on to something else.

The girls’ team did not win more than one dual during Patterson’s first season as head coach. That used to mean a lot more to her when she was in her 20s.

“I think we were 1-9 in duals my first year. You want to win back then. But as you do it, you start to realize it’s about the journey.

“I always took pride in making sure we were competitive. I wanted us to look like a team that has been coached. If we aren’t going to beat Ankeny, I want to look like we’re in the game.”

While the district searches for a replacement in the classroom, it will be very hard to replace what she built in the pool.

Shortly after taking over as head coach, Patterson coined the term Aquagirls. She created the NCMP brand.

“We were no longer just Cardinals,” Patterson said. “I know not everyone likes it. It’s nothing against the Cardinals. I just wanted everyone from each school to feel included. It was a feeling I had and I just went with it.”

The Newton school district has plenty of great teacher-coach combinations throughout all of its schools. No one currently in the district has done it for as long as Patterson though.

“She’s absolutely the best teacher-coach I have ever worked with. Period. She is just so good in all aspects of her job,” Newton High School Principal Bill Peters said. “If you mention the word Aquagirls to anyone who ever swam for her, they’ll all just glow. They’ll talk about what a wonderful program it was, how it made them a better person and how it gave them more confidence in themselves.

“My daughter, Dani Peters, swam for her and it was one of the best experiences she’s ever had. She came out of that a strong, confident young woman.”