Former University of Denver swimmer and high school swim coach Kacie Van Buskirk died suddenly in mid-December at just 27 years of age.
According to news reports, Van Buskirk and her husband, Clay, were spending the night with her parents on Saturday, Dec. 12, when Clay woke up in the middle of the night to find Van Buskirk had fallen out of bed and had died. Doctors reportedly believed she may have had a heart issue that went undetected, and added that she did not die from coronavirus.
A native of South Lyon, Mich., Van Buskirk swam for South Lyon East High School, graduating in 2011 as a four-time All-State swimmer, having won two Michigan state titles and owning six school records.
She went on to compete collegiately at the University of Denver, completing an environmental sciences degree while swimming four years with the Pioneers before returning to South Lyon where she became the assistant swim coach.
Van Buskirk had held that assistant role, alongside head coach John Burch (who had coached her previously), for the last five years.
“She was an elite athlete in general,” Burch told Hometown Life. “She had a lot of talent, but she combined that talent with a great work ethic and practice. I could count on her to always work as hard as she possibly could in practice. She is one of the toughest athletes I have ever coached. I could give her practice sets that were just incredibly difficult and I’ve had maybe three or four kids in my entire career that were able to do the same sets she was.
“That work ethic led me to realize that she was going to put that forth in everything that she does.”
Burch also spoke on the impact Van Buskirk was able to make on her swimmers as a coach.
“She was able to have that personal connection that a coach needs to have with their athletes, so it wasn’t just about performance in the water,” he said. “It was also about, ‘Hey, how are you doing? How’s life going?’ Just having that inter-personal relationship with the athletes was just something she was really good at.
“She reached a whole lot of kids.”
Such an amazing young woman. Hard to even grasp. She inspired so many wherever she went. Her personality and love for the sport had an impact that will last forever. No person that ever had the opportunity to swim for her will ever forget those moments.
So sad. Rest In Peace ❤️
Dang that’s terrible. All the best to her family, friends, and athletes