It’s no secret that the Virginia Cavaliers women’s swim team has established itself as an unrivaled dynasty — due not only to generational talents, but outstanding leadership.
Head coach Todd DeSorbo took the helm in 2017 and, as of this March, has led the program to six consecutive national championships.
Just this month, DeSorbo was named American Swimming Coaches Association (ASCA) Coach of the Year for the second year in a row. He’s a seven-time ACC Coach of The Year recipient and, just two years ago, served as head coach for the Olympic women’s swim team for the 2024 Paris games. He is, without a doubt, a winning coach.
So, what’s the magic?
Based on everything I’ve seen of him, it’s that he’s energetic, collaborative, and realistic.
He recently sat down for an interview with the SwimSwam podcast where he talked about coaching some of the world’s best swimmers — namely, Kate Douglass and Gretchen Walsh. He revealed some of his coaching practices, both technical and philosophical.
While he is, of course, the head coach of Virginia’s collegiate team, he’s taken on a number of professionals to train on Grounds, including former players like Douglass and Walsh. While the pool of professional trainees (pardon the pun) is small and is generally made up of UVA alumnae, he thought it was important to bring on additional swimmers like Isabelle Stadden to give the pro group a community as they continue to get farther from college athletes in both age and athletic performance.
Still, “the college team is my priority,” DeSorbo said. “And I’m not going to allow anything to take away from them.”
In fact, before taking on another professional, he not only runs it by the current pros, but much of the collegiate crew, as well.
“[For] the college team and the pros … the culture, the environment, the vibe is equally if not more important than the actual swimmers we have in it, and it’s allowing people to thrive.”
And, they’re certainly thriving.
After the ‘Hoos won their sixth consecutive NCAA championship in March, Walsh broke her own world record in April, going 54.33 in the 100-meter fly.
The next month, junior Anna Moesch set an American record with 51.94 in the 100-meter freestyle at the AP Race London International. In July, she broke that again at the Toyota National Swimming Championships — swimming 51.88.
Then in August, Douglass shattered expectations at the Pan Pacific Championship, swimming 23.19 in the 50-meter free, breaking her own world record (which she had set earlier that same day). As DeSorbo pointed out, the record is starting a new conversation.
“Can a female go 22?”
Douglass’s 23.19, according to DeSorbo, has unlocked the possibility.
He discussed how each swimmer’s success is contagious — spreading the idea that, if my teammate, who trains in the same pool I do, can win and set records, why can’t I?
In my opinion, that’s DeSorbo’s strength. He has the charisma, the emotional intelligence, the experience that helps him naturally instill a positive — yet incredibly competitive — perspective into his team. But the thing about him is that his coaching feels natural, maybe even experimental. It’s not so much a rigid system. It’s observant and collaborative.
With a packed event schedule, he makes sure the swimmers are fresh for each meet, and that they take a rest week with only mild exercises immediately following. He noted he would burn them out if he trained them “for eight and a half months straight.” So, he’s finding the healthy mix, integrating rest into their training plans.
Plus, he talks with the swimmers about which events they’ll swim ahead of a meet. None of it is revolutionary, but it’s just obvious to him. Why wouldn’t you work with your swimmers?
DeSorbo spoke about how, as a college swimmer, he transferred after his junior year. Even with great coaches, he wasn’t able to articulate exactly why he wanted to leave. But he doesn’t want a swimmer to go through that internal conflict like he did. He wants them to just enjoy swimming — and enjoy doing it at Virginia.
He’s cultivated and maintained a supportive team culture, even with superstars swimming the same events.
“If you two can work together, compete with each other [and] not against each other, push each other,” Desorbo said of Walsh and Douglass, “then you can both become the best in the world together.”
While DeSorbo is sensitive to internal competition and manages it early on, he also embraces it as a healthy part of the culture. When Walsh and Douglass were competing in the same collegiate races, he told them that, between the two of them, the goal was always second and first place — one right behind the other.
“Both of you are going to want to win,” DeSorbo said. “But you’re going to be excited because it’s good for the team, it’s good for you, and if you work together, you’re going to do some really special things.”
Still, he recognizes that his role is to dedicate himself both to the team, and the individual swimmers.
“I have to also separate my emotions from the situation, too, and talk to each one of them like, ‘This is about you and what you need to focus on … let me worry about what other people are doing. You worry about yourself.’”
It’s easy to talk about the swimmers coming through Virginia as generational talents. If they had gone elsewhere, surely they’d still be finding success. But they didn’t go elsewhere. He recruited, trained, retained start athletes. And now, that’s the standard at Virginia. That isn’t luck. That’s good coaching.
DeSorbo is a generational coach — making it look effortless. Connecting with the athletes, building an atmosphere, and still having a relaxed “go win” attitude is hard to strike.
DeSorbo was asked about the one thing he’s doing as a coach that nobody else is doing.
“Play music really loud during practice? I don’t know,” he laughed.
But, he’s only half joking. Because to DeSorbo, there is no secret. It’s just genuine relationship building, experience, and a dedication to the sport and his players.
That’s the magic.
