A kid who enjoyed swimming in his summer league followed his passion for swimming during his teenage and young adult years. He swam competitively in high school and for four years at a Division II university. 

Cameron Kainer had his first swim coaching experience as a college student at the swimming league he went to as a kid. 

Kainer was hired in August by the university athletic department to start the swimming and diving program at the university. He is the first head coach of the university’s swimming and diving teams. 

The athletic department announced in April they will be adding a Division II men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams. The teams will use the new Aquatic Center. 

“I think the positive thing here is we’re able to set the culture pretty early, so I’m not inheriting another program where the culture may have been on a different wavelength of what I’d like it to be,” said Kainer

Kainer said he will use his past coaching experience to help him recruit and build the culture of the swimming and diving program. 

Kainer was an assistant coach at St. Lawrence University from 2012 to 2012 and at Florida Institute of Technology from 2012 to 2013. Kainer was the men’s and women’s swimming and diving head coach at the University of Texas Permian Basin from 2013 to 2020. Kainer’s all-time Division II record at the University of Texas Permian Basin was 52-20. 

Swimming is an individual sport, said Kainer. “But I try to make it as much of a team sport as possible,” he said. 

Kainer said he wants the culture of the swimming and diving program to be successful and supportive.

Kainer said, “Yeah, we can have success in the pool and success academically, but how are we going to be successful as human beings and people and take care of ourselves and our teammates in our community?” 

Kainer plans to achieve this by building relationships with student-athletes on the teams and setting a good example of how to interact with the community and campus. 

Kainer said his goal is for both the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams to be All-American teams. All-American teams require a team average GPA of 3.0, according to the College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America.

Kainer said he is looking to recruit in Indiana first and then the Midwest region. He said he has been on the phone with recruits and coaches with a lot of interest from around the country. 

“We’re really casting a wide net here and people are seeing what’s going on here with the new buildings and the new facilities,” said Kainer. “So, it’s kind of like shooting fish in a barrel right now.” 

The university swimming and diving program is faced with a very daunting task joining the Great Lakes Valley Conference, said Kainer. He said the conference is one of the most competitive swimming conferences in the U.S. 

Jon Mark Hall, director of athletics, said they interviewed coaches across the nation via Zoom before hiring Kainer. 

Hall said Kainer was hired because of his experience and his great demeanor. “A demeanor that we feel like is what USI is all about,” said Hall. 

He said he could tell from the interview process that Kainer was all about community and family.

Cameron Kainer is on a one-year contract with the university. Hall said this does not mean that Kainer will only be head coach of the swimming and diving teams for one year. 

Hall said building the program the right way will be a learning process for both Kainer and himself. He said this is the first time he has started a program as athletic director. 

Athletic scholarships will be awarded to both men and women on the swimming and diving teams, said Hall. He said there will be some athletes that will not receive athletic aid.

Contact Jon Mark Hall at [email protected] and Cameron Kainer at [email protected] with questions about joining the swimming and diving teams.