This past summer, Brooke Rasler accepted the offer to become the head boys and girls swim coach at NorthWood High School. This is her second stint in the job, having resigned in 2016 to spend more time with her family. Rasler also serves as the pool coordinator at Warsaw Community High School. InkFreeNews photo by Keith Knepp.

By Keith Knepp
InkFreeNews

NAPPANEE — “Once a Panther, always a Panther,” is a popular saying around the Nappanee and Wakarusa communities. The phrase was put into practice earlier this year when former NorthWood High School swim coach, Brooke Rasler, was named the new NorthWood High School swim coach for the upcoming season.

Rasler has been a part of the Panther swimming community since she was a child. Her time in the NorthWood pool began as a member of the WANEE Waves swim team when she was in elementary school. She continued on as a member of the NorthWood Middle School and then the NorthWood High School interscholastic teams prior to her graduation in 2005.

Her cap and gown hadn’t even started gathering dust when she signed on the ensuing summer as an assistant coach with the Waves, teaching swimming to the next generation of Panthers. Within a year, she was promoted to head coach of the age-group feeder program. She also took on the role of middle school coach, eventually adding the high school team to her coaching résumé in 2012.

“I did all three for a year or two and then it got to be a lot,” Rasler said. “I had just gotten into a new relationship, and we were planning on getting married in 2013. I had two stepkids, and we were trying to make it work. I was missing out on a lot of family activities and so in 2016 we finally made the decision that it was time for me to hang up my coat as a coach and maybe come back at some point.”

Rasler didn’t give up the pool entirely; however, she continued to run the timing system for the home swim meets at NorthWood. She also was hired as the pool supervisor at Warsaw Community High School, a job which she still holds.

“When the aquatics coordinator job opened up at NorthWood, I said, ‘If they could get a full-time job here, that would be great,” she recalled. “I put my hat in the ring, and Sheryl (Hawkins), last year’s swim coach, put her name in. (NorthWood Athletic Director) Roman (Smith), was like, ‘with their knowledge coming together, that would be a good fit for NorthWood.’ We were tag teaming that role, getting things going.

This past year, she resigned from her activities at NorthWood, “so it became my full responsibility.”

When the high school coaching opening came up in May, Smith approached Rasler about returning to the job.

“My stepson was graduating, I was getting swim lessons up and running at Warsaw, and I also manage the pool at Shanklin Park in Goshen,” she said. “To try to get two pools up and running, open house, graduation and we’re also involved in 4-H, it was just a lot on my plate. It just was not something I was interested in.”

Smith kept pursing Rasler throughout the summer. Eventually, in July, she was persuaded by family and friends to accept the offer. She said she was encouraged by a former swimmer, Morgan Conrad, and a fellow coach, Mike Jansen, who both said they would serve as assistant coaches. Along with veteran diving coach, Doug Berger, Rasler knew she’d have a strong staff to make the program go.

“I pulled up the application at work one day, had it all filled out, and it sat there on my computer for four hours,” she said. “Sure enough, I got it sent and things just kept opening up. I felt like God was opening doors. It was kind of neat to see how things were unfolding in front of me, showing me that ‘yep, this is where you need to be.’”

She’s still the pool supervisor at WCHS, where she oversees the lifeguards, including scheduling and payroll. She also helps out with the classes that come in throughout the day. Once the school day is done, she heads to NorthWood to fulfill her duties there, which also includes lifeguard scheduling.

“I always thought I’d be a softball coach,” she said. “That was going to be my love and passion. It’s kind of been the opposite of that. I stuck with swimming, and now I’m kind of known as the ‘pool lady.’”