While her Brewton Tigersharks were racking up the awards at their recent meet in Fairhope, swim team head coach Angel Boyd was earning an award as well.
Boyd was recently awarded the Gulf Coast Area Aquatic League (GCAAL) Swim League Coach of the Year Award for 2013. The award was a first for Boyd.
“This is an unbelievably amazing honor,” Boyd said. “Receiving this award was amazing, but I owe it all to my swimmers, who work hard everyday to be the best swimmers they can be, not only in the pool, but in every aspect of their life.”
Boyd said she and the Tigersharks have a special motto they follow.
“Our Tigershark motto is: Champions never fear a challenge, never step away from pain, and never choose the easy way out,” Boyd said. “A Tigershark never fails, never retreats from a challenge, and never forgets to remember that humbleness and hard work are the three words that make a swimmer remarkable.
“I wrote this motto, printed it and circulated it around to our entire team, and most of them have it in their lockers, on a t-shirt or hanging in their room at home,” Boyd said. “Those swimmers from the youngest to the oldest are what make me a good coach and I cannot express enough thanks to them and their parents and our family members for the support and dedication for our team. Also, none of this would be possible without awesome support staff and especially coach Brandee Morris, who keeps us all in line and the team running smoothly and successfully.”
Boyd is the daughter of Craig and Sue Boyd.
A 1991 high school graduate of T.R. Miller along with Jefferson Davis Community College (1991-1993) and Auburn University of Montgomery (AUM 1993-1995), Boyd has over 18 years of YMCA Swimming and USA Swimming and coaching experience. Boyd also is currently a Level II USA Club coach and member of ASCA (American Swim Coaches Association). She also serves as secretary for G.C.A.A.L. (Gulf Coast Area Aquatic League). Along with her many duties and accomplishments, Boyd is a YMCA and Red Cross Lifeguard Instructor and YMCA Lifeguard Instructor Trainer as well as a certified YMCA Director.
Boyd began working for the YMCA at the age of 15 as an after school counselor and lifeguard. During college, she worked for the YMCA Goodtimes Program as a site director and head lifeguard/swim coach with the GTC Stingrays/Bell Road Dolphins and MYB Barracudas Swim Teams. After college, Boyd returned to Brewton as the Brewton Area YMCA girls sports director/summer camp assistant coordinator and C.I.T. Coordinator / Swim Team Coach, which turned into a Sports Director position and later to the Aquatics Director Position from 1995-1998.
In 1998, Boyd was hired by the Montgomery YMCA Goodtimes Center as Program Operations Director and eventually promoted to Montgomery Metro Aquatics Director in 2002 where she was responsible for 19 summer pools, two year round pools, 10 summer swim teams and one year round USA Club until September of 2005.
After having to medically retire from full time work due to serious health conditions in 2005 a virus attacked her heart in the prime of her life, she found herself beginning to spiral into depression. Then through the grace of God, unbelievable family support especially from her mom and amazing doctors, she battled back.
In 2007, Boyd began volunteering at the Brewton Area YMCA with the swim team in place at the time. After a year, the head coach left to pursue other career opportunities and she took over the program. That is where she completely turned the program around and received a charter from USA swimming for the Brewton Local Area Swim Team (B.L.A.S.T. Tigersharks).
The club went from six participants to 62 swimmers by the fall of 2010 and continues to grow.