State College YMCA fired its swim team coach mid-season. Now, parents scramble for answers
As its swimmers prepare for local, district and state championship meets over the next few weeks, the State College Area YMCA swim team is left searching for answers following the sudden dismissal of its beloved head coach.
YMCA of Centre County officials notified parents through a Feb. 4 email that Brian Hein, who coached the YMCA’s Aqualions swim team for more than three years, was no longer employed.
Hours later, YMCA of Centre County CEO Scott Mitchell clarified Hein’s departure was “not related to anything illegal or anything that would put any of our swimmers at risk,” according to an email memo sent to parents later that evening and obtained by the Centre Daily Times. The message did not give a reason for Hein’s dismissal.
But for more than a dozen parents who voiced their concerns to the CDT, the quick and unexpected dismissal of the SCAY swim team’s coach remains hard to grasp. Officials shared news of Hein’s firing just 11 days before the Aqualions will compete in their swim league championships and qualifying swimmers move on to district and state-level competitions.
Hein’s firing shook many of the SCAY swim team’s roughly 200 members and their families, with some parents saying their children were emotionally devastated. Other parents, frustrated by a lack of transparency from YMCA leaders who drew scrutiny two years ago when they announced plans to cut the Bellefonte swim team, said they might consider moving their swimmers to a different pool or walking away from YMCA programs entirely.
“I think it’s easy to momentarily get really angry and say, ‘If we don’t have our coach, we’re not going to be there,’” said Suzanne Winter, whose 12-year-old daughter has been with the program for more than half a decade. “I definitely had those thoughts blitz through my brain at first, but you remind yourself to take deep breaths and figure out how to keep going.”
The Centre Daily Times reached out to Mitchell, the YMCA of Centre County CEO, for comment. Multiple emails and phone calls went unanswered.
Coach adamant he did not deserve to be fired
Hein, whose coaching career began in 1999, took the reins of SCAY’s swim program more than three years ago. He helped improve the team’s training and competition regimen and sent at least two swimmers to the YMCA’s national championships each year.
“I didn’t get into coaching to get rich,” Hein told the Centre Daily Times. “I just wanted to make sure I could really have an impact on the kids and get to know them. I wanted them to swim fast and to be happy.”
Although YMCA of Centre County officials have not publicly commented on the reasons for Hein’s dismissal, he contends he was fired for not agreeing to take on additional responsibilities outside of his existing work as a coach.
Hein said he did not sign on with a specific job description when he was hired as SCAY’s salaried swim team coach.
Scott Mitchell, YMCA of Centre County’s CEO, summoned Hein to a Jan. 31 meeting to review a formal job description that included additional responsibilities such as lifeguard shifts and private lessons, Hein alleged.
He was already offering informal swim lessons outside of practice for some SCAY swimmers at no charge.
“Once they found out I was doing that, I think they wanted me to come in, run those lessons, make the families pay and have the YMCA take the money,” Hein said.
At one point, the former coach said he did not want to take another person’s work. That comment, described in his termination letter as evidence of an “uncooperative nature,” was the basis of Hein’s firing, he claims. He alleges he was summoned days later to turn over his keys and computer before Mitchell fired him.
“I think I’m getting painted with the wrong brush,” Hein said. “I feel like I’m being portrayed as not a team player, but I do these things. Who do you think is holding the tube during practices? When they’re down on [lifeguards], I’m coaching and guarding at the same time.”
Hein said he does not plan to protest his firing. Disagreements with YMCA leadership came up before — usually involving discrepancies over pool time and lane space — but Hein said he focused on advocating for his swimmers over picking fights.
“My mindset was, ‘Whatever I needed to do to finish the season, I would’ve done,’” Hein continued. “No matter what, I didn’t want to leave the kids in the middle of the season.”
Moving forward, former assistant coach Tori Pocius will lead the team while the State College Area YMCA searches for a new head swim coach. An open job posting on the branch’s website says a coach in the position is responsible for other duties “as assigned by the aquatics director or branch executive director,” including teaching stroke clinics or swim lessons.
Hein said he encourages his former swim team to persevere as they prepare for championships in February and early March.
“The swimmers have put in a lot of hard work. I hope they keep their noses to the grindstone and keep working hard,” he said.
“There are good assistant coaches there who can help guide them and help them reach their goals. Everything is still in front of them, but this is obviously a sticky situation for all of us.”
YMCA of Centre County Board of Directors chairman Tim Schoonover wrote in an email to the CDT that the YMCA would not comment on a personnel matter.
Parents shocked, angered by sudden change
While speaking with the CDT following Hein’s dismissal, many Aqualions parents praised Hein for his work coaching the swim team. Though some naturally had disagreements with the now-fired coach, most parents described Hein’s work as that of a friend, motivator and advocate.
Jason Werle, the father of 12- and 10-year-old SCAY swimmers, said Hein helped his oldest daughter overcome confidence issues and physical struggles. Now, she’s ready to continue competing after qualifying for nine events at district championships.
“Coach Brian gave her that chance, and she’s thrived since then,” Werle said.
“With his encouragement, she’s been motivated and has fallen in love with swimming. She qualified for districts, has aspirations to swim for State High and is already talking about being a collegiate swimmer if she has the chance. She would 100% point back to Brian for all of this.”
Other parents said Hein routinely offered additional lessons and pointers for their swimmers at no cost. The SCAY swim team’s oldest age groups, reserved for swimmers who are at least 11 years old or swimming at State High, practice for nearly two hours six days a week. Even the program’s youngest level, the Cubs group for ages 8 and under, practices four days a week.
Roberto Fernández said his four kids are thriving with the SCAY swim team and formed a strong bond with Hein over their two seasons with the program.
“Brian had his way with the kids, knowing when to be a friend and when to be a coach,” Fernández said. “I think the kids really understood those boundaries, which seems very healthy, like knowing when to have fun and when to listen. Some parents might complain he wasn’t as involved with younger swimmers, but at the end of the day, he was the one drawing up practices for everyone.”
Fernández said helping his family adjust after Hein’s dismissal feels like “going through a breakup.”
A few families began swimming with the Aqualions over the last two years after Bellefonte’s YMCA unveiled plans to cuts its swim team, though the program was later partially reinstated. Jennifer Werle, who serves on the SCAY swim team parent board, said families who joined the program from Bellefonte were frustrated by another major disruption to their swim team.
“This can’t keep happening, because it’s the kids who are affected,” she said. “There are swimmers on our team who came from Bellefonte, where a similar situation happened two years ago. On [the day Hein was fired], you should’ve seen their faces. They could not believe they were living this again.”
Families push for greater transparency
As Aqualions swimmers and their families try to pick up the pieces, SCAY swim team parents are calling for accountability from YMCA of Centre County leadership.
Jason Werle, whose two daughters swim with SCAY’s team, said out-of-the-blue changes to the program create a lack of trust between parents and YMCA leadership. Drastic shake-ups matter more when families invest so much, he said, pointing to the swim team’s lengthy time commitments and expensive dues, which cost between $89 and $126 per month, per swimmer, depending on their age group.
“The whole aquatics program and the YMCAs of Centre County, they just need some consistency and balance,” Werle said. “They need to feel supported by YMCA leadership, and based on decisions made over the past few years in State College and Bellefonte, there’s a lack of trust.”
He added: “It feels like the clubs are being taken advantage of. It’s not cheap to be a part of these clubs because there are additional dues on top of YMCA membership. Not only is it a time investment, but it’s a financial investment for these families, and to not trust where your resources are going and not know what the circumstances of the club are going to be from week to week and month to month, that’s alarming.”
Trust eroded further in the days following Hein’s dismissal when a planned meeting between Mitchell and swim team parents was canceled just hours before it was scheduled to begin. Some parents told the Centre Daily Times they never expected the meeting to occur at all.
Other parents expressed frustration over a lack of access to YMCA of Centre County’s board of directors, whose membership is simply listed online without contact information. In a statement sent to swim team parents Feb. 6, the board said it supported the decisions behind Hein’s firing and would not discuss employment details with the public.
Winter, who serves on the swim team’s parent board, said YMCA leadership needs to have clearer expectations for its swim programs so it can realistically meet program needs, including swim lanes and staffing.
“If the truth is that they really only want swim lessons — if that’s really all they want to have at their YMCA — then I’d want them to be honest with us, because that would make a lot of people’s decisions easier,” Winter said.
“It’s really hard, but it’d be easier to know the truth. They keep saying to our faces that they want this program and they want our swimmers to have these opportunities and succeed, but at the end of the day, the way they choose to finance the program, put effort and staffing toward the program and deal with communication doesn’t make that seem true.”
Now, some families are left weighing whether to continue swimming with SCAY’s team. The YMCA said it will offer refunds for under-contract swimmers who choose not to swim following the winter season, but there are few alternatives in the area.
“I can’t just tell my kids, ‘You know what? Screw the YMCA. They did this to us, and we’re going somewhere else,’” said Fernández, father of four swimmers.
“Their teammates are there, their friends. There are still the assistant coaches they like and know. It’s all so difficult.”
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