We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Chloe Kibutzany a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Chloe thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.

Absolutely! Growing up, I was raised by a single mom of 8 kids. To this day, I still have absolutely no idea how my mom raised us so well and how she kept her sanity throughout it. Not only did she provide basic necessities that kept us alive, she also supported us and pushed us to achieve in all aspects that we wanted to. When I was 12, I wanted to try out artistic swimming and my mom let me go to a try-it night. After the try-it night, I came home and told my mom (with all the confidence in the world) that I was going to go to the Olympics. I think at that moment, her brain went “yeah okay kid – you do that” but she didn’t say those words to me. Instead she told me “alright well you’re going to have to work really hard to get there”. My Olympic dream (which I later pursued) was a crazy one. Every kid, at some point, wants to go to the Olympics or play at Wimbledon, or perform at Carnegie hall. And most will never make it. However, instead of shooting my dream down, my mom poured belief into me. She always supported me no matter what I wanted to do and always believed that no matter what, I would achieve what I set out to. I think that her support and belief really impacted how I viewed myself and my capabilities. No matter what I do, I know that I can do whatever it is I set my mind to, and that is one of the biggest things my mom did right.

Another big thing my mom did right that has really impacted me to this day was to let me fail and to help me push through failures. Perhaps one of the biggest opportunities in life that anyone has, is the opportunity for failure. One of the years that I swam, I faced some mental challenges in my personal life that bled into my swimming and affected my mental performance which affected my physical performance. I remember going to competitions and having such mental blocks that I felt like I was drowning anytime I swam at competitions. I specifically remember my mom telling me, after one such performance, that she thought that she was going to have to jump in the water to save me from drowning. Obviously, this was not the best thing to hear from my mother. However, after she told me this, I also remember her pushing me to continue working and growing to improve my swimming – which I did. She never sugar coated things in a way where everything was a “good job” or “great swim”. She always told me how I was doing – even if I was swimming like I was drowning, and then she would push me to overcome those failures and do better. To this day, anytime I fail at something (work, relationships, coaching, etc.) I know that I can overcome those failures and do better.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Well, my name is Chloe. I am 26 years old, and I am an artistic swimming coach. Artistic swimming (formerly known as synchronized swimming) is a blend of speed swimming, gymnastics, and dance. I began swimming when I was 12. At the time, one of my best friends was an artistic swimmer and she would constantly talk about how hard it was and how it was such an amazing sport. I (being the sassiest 12 year old) told her that the sport was in fact not hard and that most anyone could do it. She told me to prove it. So, I went to a try-it night, and fell in love with the sport (and apologized to my friend for calling the sport lame and easy). From there, I swam for 6 years in Colorado all through my middle school and high school years. After graduating high school, I moved to California to train with one of the top teams in the nation and one of the feeder teams for the U.S. National Team. Due to many factors, I stopped my swimming career at 19 and moved back to Colorado. Once I moved back, I coached for a team located in Boulder and quickly realized that my goals and the goals/management of the team did not align. I decided that I was going to start my own team and I did just that. Throughout the years, we have dealt with pool closures, COVID, home pool movement, difficulty attaining pool time, and much more. We have also grown exponentially in the last few years and I am looking forward to coaching athletes to high achievements. My goal is to coach athletes to achieve their full potential both in and out of the water.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I think the biggest lesson I had to unlearn is the lesson of culture. Artistic Swimming is a predominantly female sport. Unfortunately, this comes with a lot of women who are passive aggressive, catty, only looking out for themselves, etc. I guess this lesson isn’t so much one I had to unlearn, but one I learned was something I did not want within my own organization. When I was swimming (and I competed/swam for many teams) coaches, athletes, and parents were always causing drama within the team atmosphere. I remember having to watch out for certain parents, try to stay away from certain athletes, and generally have to worry about the politics of the team and association I was a part of. When I started my own team, I made a promise to myself that whatever number of swimmers I was coaching, the team environment would be one of encouragement, cohesion, and support. I believe that we (the artistic swimming community) have an amazing opportunity to coach and train athletes that support and care for one another no matter which team they swim for. And I also believe that on some level, the artistic swimming community has failed at that. I think that if we can change the culture of cattiness that runs rampant within our sport, then we as a community will thrive.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

For me, the most rewarding aspect of being an artistic swimming coach is being able to nurture and grow young athletes into young humans. I coach with the thought that all athletes are human beings first and athletes second. No matter their capabilities in the pool, all athletes are going to face challenges, have amazing accomplishments, learn life lessons, grow into members of the community, and all of that is such a privilege to watch. I have athletes that I have coached in college who text me about classes they’re taking and tattoos they’ve gotten. I have athletes who have written essays on their experiences and asked for letters of recommendation. Seeing athletes grow into people and thrive outside of the sport environment is something that brings so much joy into my life and I am so thankful that I have been able to witness these things.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://tridentartisticswimming.org/
• Instagram: tridentartswim