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Wednesday, June 16, 1999Longtime IST coach to retireWednesday, June 16, 1999Press staff reportYoung swimmers didn't always have a place on the Issaquah Swim Team. In 1979, when Leah Kay Mix's son, Eric, was on the team, she noticed many younger siblings of IST members running around the Julius Boehm Pool during practice.She wanted to get them involved, so Mix volunteered to coach a group of 5- and 6-year-olds, including her daughter, Leslie.Mix's volunteer-turned-paid position has lasted the longest of any IST coach. On June 6, she was recognized at the annual IST awards dinner for her commitment to the program.In August, Mix will retire after nearly 20 years of IST coaching."Some of the kids that I got started have already finished college," Mix reflected.
Fundamental backbone"Leah Kay has been the backbone of the developmental swimmers for the Issaquah Swim Team," said IST manager Dave Kienlen."I think that one of the reasons she has been so successful and here for a long time is she brings some qualities to humanity that everyone of us parents and coaches revere," Kienlen added. "She brings a motherly love to every one of those little children. That helps boost their confidence, their security and their motivation."Mix also is a strong disciplinarian and consistent in her approach. "The kids know exactly what is expected," Kienlen said. "They know when they're going to be praised for doing well, and they know what they're going to be corrected on. They don't have to worry about how Leah Kay is going to respond. She's a very loving woman."Teaching all four competitive strokes, starts and turns is Mix's main responsibility with IST members ages 8-and-under.They practice three times a week and compete about once a month. "I really enjoy the little people," Mix said of this age division. "They say the funniest things."Traditionally, the IST has had a good core of coaches. Mix became a paid staff member about 10 years ago.This past year, Mix's daughter, Leslie, returned from the University of Tennessee, where she was an NCAA Division I All-American distance freestyler on the women's swim team.Leslie, along with Noelle Roundy, assisted her mother with IST coaching duties. Both women are being considered as replacements when Leah Kay Mix's retirement becomes official."Lots and lots of people have joined the IST because they have known about Leah Kay," Kienlen said. "She's going to be the kind of person who is probably impossible to replace because of all of her qualities."
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Longtime IST coach to retire 
