When Jackie Haenlein talks about summer swimming, her enthusiasm is impossible to miss. For her, the pool has never been just a place to compete. It has been a second home, a classroom, a community, and now a place where she pours her energy into the next generation.
A Charlotte native, Haenlein grew up in South Charlotte and spent her childhood on the swim team at Beverly Woods East. She began swimming at 4 and stayed in the sport through her senior year of high school. Today, at 34, she is head swim coach of a program of more than 200 swimmers ranging in age from 4 to 18.
Teacher by school year, coach by summer
During the school year she teaches first grade at Beverly Woods Elementary School. Whether she is in the classroom or on the pool deck, her focus is the same: building confidence and helping young people discover what they can achieve.
She began coaching as a freshman in high school and has now spent 14 years mentoring young swimmers. As head coach for the past six seasons, she oversees a staff of 15 coaches, coordinates meet entries, communicates with families and manages the details that keep one of the area's largest summer swim programs running.
Giving back what she got
Ask her what keeps her coming back and the answer says a lot about her. She remembers how much summer swim meant in her own childhood: the friendships, the excitement and the encouragement from older swimmers. Now she finds joy in giving that same experience to others. She describes it as giving back to the community that gave so much to her family.
That commitment, with the support of team representatives Lee Ann Barrineau and Heather Nalls, has helped build one of the area's most successful summer programs. Under her leadership the team has won five consecutive All-Star Championships. She speaks of the wins with humility, preferring to talk about the teamwork, friendships and growth of her swimmers rather than the trophies.
October plans
The issue reports that Haenlein was to marry her fiancé, Daniel Russell, one of her biggest supporters and a familiar face on the sidelines, in October.
For the hundreds of young swimmers who pass through her program, Coach Jackie is doing more than teaching strokes and turns. She is helping shape confident, capable young people, one lap at a time.
This story appears in the June 2026 issue of Stroll Quail Hollow.