Chelsea Swim Coach Leaves Behind a Successful Program

From the community education department as an Enrichment Coordinator to the Charles Cameron Pool as a Coach, Chelsea will miss having Andrew Thomson around. He played a big part over the years, especially as Head Varsity Boys and Girls Swimming Coach at the high school.

Thomson is stepping down from his leadership roles, the Chelsea School District announced in a social media post this past week.

The Sun Times News followed up with Thomson to ask him about the decision, looking back and what’s next.

Thomson has been the head coach of both the boys and girls programs for the past six years, and he was the assistant coach of both programs for 11 years before that. His predecessor was also his mentor, who played a big part in his life as a coach.  

“From the time I started in Chelsea until he retired, Dave Jolly was a mentor to me as the long-time head coach of both programs,” Thomson said. “I learned more than I could ever imagine from him over the years, from not only the swimming side, but also the relationship side. Coaching high school boys and girls can be two very different things, and he helped show me how to do both. He was also pretty darn good at the swimming part too!” 

As far as why and how he found his way to Chelsea and into coaching, Thomson said he applied for a job with the Chelsea Aquatic Club before his senior year at the University of Michigan and hadn’t even heard of Chelsea before. 

“I got the job as the head coach, which was my first time as a head coach,” he said. “It was a steep learning curve and I never thought it would lead to me being in Chelsea for two decades.”

He’s now leaving behind a coaching legacy. As a head and assistant coach, he’s had a lot of memorable moments and highlights.

He said he’s proud of every accomplishment “that our teams have had during the last 17 years.” 

The boys were back-to-back state runner up in 2014 and 2015 and now in 2025 they just won the first SEC title since 2015. The girls finished fourth overall in the state in 2019 and won four consecutive SEC championships the past four seasons. During the last six years as head coach we have celebrated 60 all-conference athletes and 28 all-state athletes. 

“But even more important than the incredible athletic success to me has been our success in the classroom,” he said in his letter to Chelsea Athletic Director Matt Cunningham. “During the past six years we have celebrated 59 academic all-conference honors and 50 academic all-state honors for our seniors. During this six year stretch we also earned academic all-state team honors every single year for both the boys and girls teams.”

Looking ahead Thomson said he’s leaving Chelsea to finish his Masters Degree and eventually start his official career, which will be in public administration. He started the master’s degree work for the third time in the year following Covid, and never finished, he said. 

“I would like to finally see that through, and unfortunately making that choice will cost me one of my favorite things, which is coaching these teams,” he said. “I know that wherever I end up next, I am going to find my way to the nearest high school pool and see what I can help with!”

His time in Chelsea has meant a lot to him and made an impact.

“I will miss coaching in Chelsea immensely,” he said. “This is a great place to be, and there is a reason why families still flock here for the schools and community in general. The kids in our high school are some of the best and brightest, and they do so many other things besides just swim and dive. I will miss coming to the pool every day after leaving the office and getting to hear about the day the kids had, whether it was awful or amazing.  Spending time with these bright minds keeps us adults sharp and on our toes!”

Good luck Coach Thomson!