
Sartell-St. Stephen’s Anderson Swimming Off Into The Sunset
SARTELL (WJON News) -- The Sartell-St. Stephen High School Boys’ Swim Coach has decided to call it a career. Coach Jason Anderson is retiring after being the head coach for 15 years and coaching the team for 33.
Anderson says things are in place that made this the right time:
“To have a real quality coach take over the program, Hannah Nelson, who’s been my assistant for the last four years and just other parts of life have come together so it just seemed like now was the time and you kind of have to pick a time after a while and this was it.”
He says it is a little bittersweet to be saying goodbye after all this time:
“I’ve been involved in swimming really my whole life, my family’s been involved in swimming. I believe my dad started the swimming program in Willmar, Minnesota in 1968 so I always grew up swimming, watching him coach, and then of course became involved in it with myself when I was employed in Sartell and aah yeah, it’s just been a tremendous amount of great memories.”
Anderson says he will miss the kids and their families the most:
“I’ve just been so blessed to work with just wonderful student athletes over the years that have had so much fun and the parents to back them up. The parents have been absolutely wonderful and supportive to me.”
He says over the years he has formed friendships with many of his students with some working with him in the school district or even becoming assistant coaches. Anderson says so much has changed over his 33 years of coaching:
“For sure the technology has improved, I mean, at Sartell now we have, you know, underwater cameras and video that we can use to critique the kids, the training has gotten more specified, the weight lifting that the kids do, they’re so much stronger now.”

Anderson is not retiring from teaching so he will still be around the school for a few years and says he is looking forward to doing some ice fishing. Anderson compiled a 135-14-1 record, led the team to 10 conference titles, and 11 section championships in his tenure as head coach.
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