After a notable athletic career, David Fox became an assistant coach for the Boys Swimming and Diving team at Andover in 2006 and later took on the role of head coach in 2012. Fox found major success during his collegiate days at Bates College, where he held records in nine of the eighteen individual swimming events. In addition, throughout his time as head coach at Andover, 298 records have been broken by swimmers and divers. Following the opening of the Pan Athletic Center and the Christopher Lynn ’66 Pool, Fox was able to merge the Varsity and Junior Varsity teams.
After facing burnout from an intense schedule during high school, packed with many practices and competitions, Fox regained his passion for the sport, competing at Bates College and coaching both swimming and water polo.
“My swimming career peaked between ages seven and fourteen. During those years, I was swimming year-round, often attending two practices each day, and I was consistently a nationally ranked swimmer. By the time I entered high school, I had swum approximately 6500 miles, but I was burned out and started swimming much less and with much less success. For college, I went to Bates, and it was fun for me to be competing again nationally, albeit at the NCAA Division III level. Following Bates, I coached at club swimming and water polo before coaching the Harvard Men’s water polo team while in graduate school,” wrote Fox in an email to The Phillipian.
Fox shared his awareness of the fact that many athletes had similarly intense training and impressive accolades before coming to Andover. He aims to prevent the burnout that he experienced during high school.
Fox wrote in an email to The Phillipian, “These experiences influence how I think about swimming at Andover. Many of the athletes with whom I work have had comparable careers before arriving here, and I enjoy the challenge of supporting them to get faster in high school and to protect them from the type of burn-out I experienced so that they can keep improving in college, too.”
Sean Niu ’25 described Fox’s coaching style as both providing encouragement and focusing on development. Niu noted some of his guiding principles.
“His coaching style is very supportive yet focused on improvement. He is very understanding and knows what is best for his swimmers. He stresses discipline and is always pushing us to do better and be better swimmers,” said Niu.
Sam Lee ’24 noted Fox’s approachability and support. He highlighted Fox’s ability to use his past experiences to help the team grow.
Lee said, “Coach Fox is extremely intellectual, ambitious, and empathetic. Although it can sometimes seem intimidating talking to a coach, he makes it really easy. He always offers encouragement and support and it is evident he is looking out for us and wanting us to succeed and improve. He utilizes his experience and knowledge of swimming from competing in college and having a long history of coaching too, which is helpful.”
Having the team provide a family for its members is something Fox is constantly striving for. He mentioned the importance of a positive team dynamic in addition to championship accomplishments.
Fox wrote in an email to The Phillipian, “We have the same goals every year: to create a family in which everyone is welcomed and valued and in which the interests of the whole outweigh the interests of the few or the one and to swim the absolute fastest we can at our championship meets.”
Fox’s efforts to create community do not go unnoticed by his athletes. Lee credited his ability to promote encouragement and collaboration with helping the team during challenging practices and meets.
Lee said, “He brings values of support and unity to our team. He wants us to all be working together and encouraging each other at all times whether in or out of the pool. This means we are always cheering our teammates on during hard sets or meets and just helping each other out. Striving for collaboration is a big part of his leadership.”
According to Niu, Fox takes on a unique style within his coaching, frequently allowing the Co-Captains to lead. He described how this approach encourages all athletes to step up and work together.
Niu said, “Although very supportive and focused on improvement, he often lets our captains take over the role of leadership, and he tries to emphasize his role of being a mentor, and therefore allowing our more experienced swimmers to lead the team by example. This teaches us valuable skills of collaboration and leadership.”
Fox advocates for a mindset that involves controlling the controllable, encouraging swimmers to focus on personal performance instead of external factors. Additionally, he noted his desire for his athletes to strive for a high standard of excellence, both within the program and in their broader lives at Andover.
Fox wrote in an email to The Phillipian, “I hope our swimmers learn to focus on those things within their control — to a significant extent, how fast they swim — and ignore those things outside their control — how fast other people swim. I hope our swimmers learn the value of sacrificing the interests of the individual for the interests of the team. I hope our swimmers learn to seek excellence, to be the very best swimmers they can be within the context of life at Andover. These values and goals of our program run counter to much of larger culture.”
