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Notre Dame Associate Head Coach April Jensen Won’t Return Next Season

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are on the market for a new assistant coach as a result of April Jensen not returning to the program next season. This is one of two openings on the Notre Dame swimming & diving staff, with head diving coach Caiming Xie announcing his retirement in March after 25 years leading that side of the program.

Jensen was promoted to associate head coach before the 2017-2018 season, a role that she held for 3 years as part of 5 total seasons with the program. She joined the program as April Woo in 2015 as part of a new staff for the Irish when Mike Litzinger became head coach.

Jensen started coaching at Cleveland State and worked there while earning her masters degree. After Cleveland State, she spent three years at Florida Gulf Coast before taking a volunteer position with Stanford for the 2014-2015 season, when the Cardinal finished 3rd at the NCAA Championships. Jensen swam for the University of the Pacific from 2005-2009 and was a captain during her senior year.

Before coming to Notre Dame, Jensen was a recipient of the Jean Freeman award from the CSCAA: an award given to a male and female assistant coach in each NCAA division whose contributions have brought recognition to the respective colleges or university, and whose honesty, leadership and integrity reflects the characteristics of Jean Freeman.

Jensen and her husband Brent had their first child, Avery, on December 8, 2019.

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Sam
4 years ago

it’s sad that swimswam allows this subject to get out of hand, it serves no purpose just feeds animosity, negativity, and now it seriously veers towards destroying this coach’s reputation and career. This is juvenile.

Ggggg
Reply to  Sam
4 years ago

Gggg

ALLforOne
4 years ago

I swam for April at CSU and had nothing but good experiences with her. I improved and she was a coach that very much listened to her athletes.

Go Irish
4 years ago

I am the parent of a former swimmer on the ND team and I can attest to many of the comments here. Swimmers attend ND due to the top-notch academics plus a top ranked swim program. No NCAA swim team can match the job placement results of swimmers at ND – swim graduates in the last 2 years have landed jobs at Goldman Sachs, Citibank, Duetsche Bank, Booz Allen Hamilton, Price Waterhouse to name just a few, and many are accepted to medical school. I have always thought ND should promote these job results on social media more as it’s a huge recruiting point for swimmers focused on their future and not just on their swim times. As one commenter… Read more »

Coach
Reply to  Go Irish
4 years ago

“No NCAA swim team can match the job placement results of swimmers at ND”

That’s a pretty delusional statement. I am sure swimmers from Stanford, Cal, the Ivies, USC, MIT, Northwestern, Duke, Emory, etc have something to say.

Neature
Reply to  Go Irish
4 years ago

“No NCAA swim team can match the job placement results of swimmers at ND.” Is that a real comment? Look into job/graduate school placement rates for the Ivy League, NECAC, UAA, MIT, Stanford, Northwestern, etc. and report back.

Swimmom
Reply to  Go Irish
4 years ago

Cannot find ND in this top 25 colleges for Goldman Sachs
The top U.S. and U.K. universities for getting a front-office job at Goldman Sachs
Rank Schools
1 London School of Econmics
2 University of Pennsylvania
3 New York University
4 Columbia University
5 Harvard University
6 Princeton University
7 Cornell University
8 Stanford University
9 University of Oxford
10 University of Cambridge
11 MIT
12 University of Chicago
13 University of California, Berkeley
14 Yale University
15 University College London
16 Duke University
17 University of Michigan
18 Imperial College London
19 Baruch College
20 University of Warwick
21 Northwestern University
22 Dartmouth University
23 University of Nottingham
24 University of Bath
25 University of Bristol

Ladyvoldisser
Reply to  Swimmom
4 years ago

Way to go SWIMMOM! You certainly stuffed Go Irish with this bit of information – WELL DONE!! Hey Irish – who cares about Goldman Sachs???? They are a bunch of “banksters” who rob from the rich and poor alike. I say graduates of southern schools have it great…better tans, slower pace of life and no snow!!! So what if we work at Subway and Walmart!!! Man have you got yer priority messed up – it aint all about havin money and good jobs. Its about good fishing holes and fresh vegetables.

Swimmom
Reply to  Ladyvoldisser
4 years ago

It’s “Go Irish”‘s post placing Goldman Sachs as a proof of ND’s job placement: “No NCAA swim team can match the job placement results of swimmers at ND – swim graduates in the last 2 years have landed jobs at Goldman Sachs, Citibank, Duetsche Bank…”.

Geno
4 years ago

This comment series is shameful. Shameful on the young man who is misrepresenting himself and the Notre Dame program, and shameful on SwimSwam for allowing. The benefit to open discourse is when all parties have a seat at the table to discuss, which is not the case if Coach is not contributing in her own defense. Honest conversation is fantastic, but to use a public forum to bash the character or performance of an assistant coach when it sounds like one’s personal relationship just wasn’t a good one with said coach, is petty and unnecessary. I have posted factual information previously on SwimSwam articles that was disallowed by editors—specifically, when Coach Skinner was fired at IU versus ‘retired’ midseason as… Read more »

Geno
Reply to  Braden Keith
4 years ago

Oh, Braden. How sad of you. I’m not even a recruiter and could care less. But I have plenty of experience and knowledge. Please feel free to email me a breakdown of every post I’ve shared. I’ll happily contribute percentages on factual information versus opinion. Your response is unfortunate.

SadGeno
Reply to  Geno
4 years ago

People like Braden and Tabahn come on here and use their names, and you think we’re all supposed to care that anonymous Geno thinks their comments are “sad” and “unfortunate”?

D1 coach
Reply to  SadGeno
4 years ago

Frankly, I view all anonymous comments in these threads as just entertainment. Swim fans jawing, enjoying sports talk. It’s kind of the way I was raised on sports, but my dad was a football coach, so maybe that’s why I have a different perspective. It’s just fun as long as you don’t take it too seriously.

When people start putting their names on stuff, then I get interested, sit up, and listen. That’s when it’s time for a real conversation to happen.

Ladyvoldisser
Reply to  D1 coach
4 years ago

Exactly! Well said. Certainly there are times when each of us have serious and pointed comments which add much to dialogue. There also are times when many on SwimSwam tease, barb and gig other posters knowing it also adds to the fray!

USAUSAUSA
Reply to  Braden Keith
4 years ago

Braden calling out commenters is low key one of the best things about swimswam

swimapologist
Reply to  Geno
4 years ago

Lol Geno is just afraid because when people actually put their names to it, it gives the comment credibility and he can’t just wipe it away with a “damn anonymous ss commenters” anymore.

Coaches in this sport got away with stuff for a long time, because all that mattered was their relationship with other coaches, not their relationships with their athletes. Now, they have to be better. It’s part of the job. If you don’t want to get better, if you don’t want to be forced to improve yourself and your coaching, then you have two choices: go coach a summer league, where you won’t have any real accountability, or go to a different industry.

You chose to work in… Read more »

Chuckbass
4 years ago

Legions of ND swim campers are sad. Best of luck to coach April!!

Mark Naird
4 years ago

I would like to provide more insight into why college athletes such as members of the Notre Dame swim team do not achieve their expectations during their college career. Many swimmers do not care enough about the sport or are not committed enough to suddenly drop a full second in a 50-yard race. Athletes like Tabahn are a pleasure to have on the team and great people, but do not have a commitment and passion for the sport. A sure fire way to go from 2nd at accs to 24th over two years is to gain an affinity for fruit juice and 35 pounds along with it. Swimming is a sport of lean machines; healthy eating and intense training are… Read more »

Taa
Reply to  Mark Naird
4 years ago

Did you just call Tabahn fat and lazy? That will do wonders for recruiting. I’m having trouble picking a side.

Tabahn Afrik
Reply to  Mark Naird
4 years ago

Guilty. I love fruit juice. But many of the swimmers under April’s group were/are amazing athletes! I don’t know why you’d call them “poor swimmers who are man enough.”

Ol' Longhorn
Reply to  Tabahn Afrik
4 years ago

Did you really put on 35 pounds? Did she force feed you?

Dan
Reply to  Ol' Longhorn
4 years ago

It could be 35 lbs of muscle which could be good for a sprinter.

Greg
Reply to  Ol' Longhorn
4 years ago

OL, I don’t always agree with your opinions, but in this thread you are 100% spot on. Keep firing away!

Tabahn Afrik
Reply to  Ol' Longhorn
4 years ago

No haha!! I did not gain 35 pounds. And there was no force feeding lol. I mean put on a lot of muscle from freshman year to senior year, so yeah my weight would increase… but I mean, that is kind of expected. I was more or less saying “guilty” to loving lemonade! It’s so good.

College Swimming
Reply to  Mark Naird
4 years ago

Your comment is just incorrect. Maybe if the coaching staff didn’t mentally take advantage of the athletes as Tabahn points toward they would be “man enough” to compete at the high level you are assessing across the rest of the program. It’s quite hard to swim your best nonetheless work your best in a mentally compromising environment. I think the biggest problem here is the the athletes never had a voice and when asking for change they were ignored or labeled as “not being loyal” or their character was attacked. It’s ridiculous that all the blame comes on the swimmer, they quit, end up hating the sport, or worse leave with lasting mental problems, and the coaches can wash their… Read more »

ND Alumni
Reply to  Mark Naird
4 years ago

“Mark Naird”, I respect your comment. I understand your point of view, but I disagree and would like to pose a different point of view. The coaching staff that took over the first combined team are in fact good swim coaches. However, as with CEO taking over a business, you have to learn that business’s culture and not alienate the employees, you need your employees to view you as a leader and ally. I believe the coaching did not do that as well as they could have. They failed to understand the culture of Notre Dame, having come from state schools. At Notre Dame, we put academics first, and we do athletics well regardless. Many athletes at Notre Dame study… Read more »

Neature
Reply to  ND Alumni
4 years ago

@NDAlumni Incremental change isn’t always the best road forward. Holloway completely and abruptly changed the culture when he took over at State and that’s worked out pretty well for the Wolfpack.

PowerTower
4 years ago

I didn’t see this comment thread coming.

NDS Alum
Reply to  PowerTower
4 years ago

*powertower has entered the chat*

Frank Dyer
4 years ago

ND Alum & Tabahn specifically. I’m imploring you to end this conversation immediately and take it off line. I am completely embarrassed that you would make these remarks and gladly welcome comments and an open discussion about your negative opinions about one of our coaches. It is not an opinion that you are in the wrong here; it is fact. Do not shame Notre Dame like this. I think it goes without saying I support this program and I support April.

Meeeeeee
Reply to  Frank Dyer
4 years ago

Agree. The only thing Tabahn did is harm a coach, ND, and make it difficult for his little brother to get recruited. Who wants a kid who may have the same gall as his big brother?

Coach
Reply to  Meeeeeee
4 years ago

Says the person who consistently rips specific programs…

meeeee
Reply to  Braden Keith
4 years ago

You know who i am

Greg
Reply to  Braden Keith
4 years ago

Anonymous or not, it’s not right for swimswam to allow this personal, gendered, public bashing of a female assistant swim coach by a disgruntled former swimmer. And yes it does make a difference that she is female and it will continue to matter until female coaches are not grossly under-represented in college swimming.

Shameful for a lot of people here, including editors of this site stirring the pot.

swimapologist
Reply to  Greg
4 years ago

College coaches circling the wagons hard.

swimapologist
Reply to  Greg
4 years ago

Why does everyone in these threads wanna blame Swimswam for everything? Get your own house in order. Address your athletes’ online behaviors. I guarantee you that they’re posting worse on other platforms that have nothing to do with ss, and they’re probably taking their cue from their coaches and parents. Whole lotta “swim moms” and “swim dads” on these forums bringing the negativity.

meeeee
Reply to  Coach
4 years ago

only Purdue. and haven’t mentioned a person there. just Purdue

JoeB.
Reply to  Frank Dyer
4 years ago

I don’t think this is an embarrassment for ND. I think it shows honest men are being raised there. There is absolutely nothing wrong with welcoming conversation as long as it is honest. They may be tough to have, but if a conversation is tough to have then it is probably one worth having. Silencing this to save face is exactly what tabahn is describing happening to him.

Applesandoranges
Reply to  JoeB.
4 years ago

Casting aspersions on a coach, fruit juice addictions, and confessions are better left to the anonymity of a confessional with a priest, than a bunch of us here on SwimSwam.

NDSAlum 2.0
Reply to  Frank Dyer
4 years ago

Frank, thanks for the comment. While everyone’s input is appreciated, virtue signaling is neither helpful nor relevant here. You swam for Welsh & Tallman. Not April / Litz / Bell.

This is an open forum where voices are meant to be heard. Tabahn clearly felt like his voice was not heard at ND and finally has the opportunity to have an open, candid conversation. While you may disagree with Tabahn’s opinion, which you won’t have a ton of basis for given you didn’t swim for April, he still has the right to voice it.

As a former teammate of Tabahn’s, I can attest to his experience & his respectful transparency with the coaching staff. He is not a… Read more »

About Braden Keith

Braden Keith

Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and a co-founder/co-owner of SwimSwam.com. He first got his feet wet by building The Swimmers' Circle beginning in January 2010, and now comes to SwimSwam to use that experience and help build a new leader in the sport of swimming. Aside from his life on the InterWet, …

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