FAIRFIELD, Conn. – A year can be measured in several ways from tearing months off the calendar, thumbing through the pages of a weekly planner, or crossing out days with a large red X. Fairfield University Head Swimming and Diving Coach Jacy Dyer collected milestones to account for the last 12 months, all of which provided a most memorable year for the Pennsylvania native.

It was a year ago that Dyer accepted the opportunity to lead the Fairfield swimming and diving program, her first tenure as a head coach. A few months after arriving on campus, Dyer led the women's swimming and diving team to a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) championship and collected the women's swimming coach of the year as selected by the MAAC's head coaches.

Now, Dyer will another milestone when she oversees a group of United States women's swimmers and guides the group during the 2023 World University Games as the team's head coach. The Games take place between August 1-7 in Chengdu, China.

"I am very excited about this opportunity to coach at the World University Games and represent the United States," Dyer said. "When I was a student-athlete, I thought about being able to compete internationally. Now, I can be part of that experience as a coach and that means a lot to me."

Her experience as the head coach of the United States squad is much like her experience as the Stags' head coach. While UNC-Asheville Assistant Coach Ian Quinn handles the logistics for the team as director of swimming, Dyer has been working the phones to recruit student-athletes to compete in the Games as well as manage the day-to-day responsibilities of building a team from scratch.

"Recruiting for the World University Games is not much different than recruiting at Fairfield," Dyer said. "We reached out to coaches and student-athletes to find swimmers that would be interested in competing this summer.  I actually talked with a few student-athletes that I recruited when I was at Virginia Tech so it was good to reconnect with them too."

With a roster boasting of talent and experience, Dyer must mold her student-athletes into a team which can be a difficult task considering logistics of building a squad that includes student-athletes from nearly 20 universities and colleges.

"The key is team building and getting everyone connected," Dyer said. "It's hard because we are in different places. We don't have a year to train together like you do during a college season. I emphasized the importance of getting in the water and training so each athlete can be ready for the Games and bring home the hardware. I think everyone is excited to be part of this team so there already is a lot of motivation."

With a roster in hand and team bonding in the works, Dyer must turn her attention toward the difficult decision of which athlete will swim which event with the hope of maximizing the team's success.

"There are a lot of decisions," Dyer said. "The format includes prelims, semifinals, and finals so a swimmer has the potential to swim an event three times. The team can have no more than two swimmers in any event and everyone must swim at least one event so it gets challenging. It's like a puzzle trying to fit everything together when you want everyone to get the most of this experience. It's really trying to putting everything together for greater team success."

The team came together in Los Angeles for a quick training camp at the University of Southern California (USC) before it headed overseas. Peter Richardson is the associate head coach of swimming at USC and is also the men's swimming head coach for the World University Games and welcomed the teams to the training session. From there, the teams flew to China and began acclimating themselves to the culture.

"I've always wanted to travel internationally," Dyer said. "I love traveling and learning the cultures of other countries. I want to go to every continent and now I have this opportunity to go to China and coach. I am looking forward to the Athlete Village and learning about other cultures and what they do and what their life is like."
The teams will also have the chance to experience China after the swimming competition which will offer an opportunity for everyone to learn about their host country.

"It's not just a swim meet because we will get to explore China as well," Dyer said. "Chengdu is known for pandas so we are going to go to a panda sanctuary while we are there. I am also a foodie so I will enjoy the experience of trying all the different food during our stay. I am looking forward to learning about their culture and getting to know so many different people."

With so many responsibilities to the team as well as the individuals, Dyer knows she needs to keep proper perspective throughout her stay in China.
"I am trying to take this all in and keep perspective because I realize this might be the only time I am a coach on a staff like this," Dyer said. "It's been a great experience watching how this has been put together and getting to know so many people. I want to take advantage of this chance and appreciate it while I can. I need to allow myself to fully engage and enjoy this moment."

While she has been getting ready for the World University Games, Dyer has also been preparing for the upcoming Fairfield swimming and diving season. Coming off a successful inaugural year hasn't quelled Dyer's passion, knowing that keeping this level of achievement will take even more effort and commitment for the coaching staff and the student-athletes.

"I am constantly thinking about the next season and what needs to be done before we start at Fairfield," Dyer said. "Our incoming freshmen on both the men's and women's side are awesome so I am very excited to coach this group. For our returning student-athletes, we need to continue the momentum from last year. I am interested to see how everyone will interact and adapt because we are a different team than last year after losing our seniors. I very excited for next season."

For Dyer and her teams, 2023-24 will offer renewed enthusiasm mixed with new challenges and new milestones to measure a new year.