Seth Donnelly, a beloved swim coach from Goshen, Indiana, died of natural causes on March 12th; he was just 38 years old.
Born in 1987 in Ithaca, New York, Donnelly was involved in the sport of swimming for most of his life. He swam for Penn High School in Indiana, where he contributed to the team in a variety of events each year, including the 200 IM, 500 freestyle, and 100 butterfly. He later attended Holy Cross University and the University of Alaska at Anchorage.
Donnelly had a genuine passion for coaching, which took him to various destinations across the country, including the states of Indiana, Virginia, and Alaska. He was once the head coach of the Goshen Rays, where he guided many swimmers to divisional, state, and sectional qualifying times.
Another of Donnelly’s coaching stops was at Concord High School in Dunlap, Indiana, where he assisted Head Coach Tom Johnson with both the girls’ and boys’ teams.
The Goshen Rays Head Coach, Trevor Wood, shared a tribute to Donnelly and his impact on their Facebook page.
“It’s with great sadness that we remember one our former head coaches, Seth Donnelly who passed away on 3/12 of this week. Seth was a well accomplished head coach that took many of our swimmers to divisionals, state, and sectionals. He cared deeply for the team and everyone involved with it having great impact on the lives of many athletes, parents, and community members during his time with the team. Our team owes a great debt to Seth for keeping GSI together during one of the most difficult times of our lives, adapting new coaching and practice styles to lead us through the pandemic. Without his dedication, GSI may not have been able to continue. In fact, his dedication to the team was so great that when he became paralyzed during the weekend of the 2021 sectional meet, as soon as he got out of the hospital, he continued to coach while relearning how to walk. On a more personal note, I would never have become a coach if Seth had not taken a chance on me 7 years ago and I still thank him for his mentorship and guidance as do many others. You will be dearly missed, Seth. Until next time.”
Outside of his involvement in the swimming world, Donnelly enjoyed playing golf and had a love for animals. He is survived by his parents, Richard and Ellen, and his brother, Matthew.
No funeral services are currently planned, but Yoder-Culp Funeral Home is working closely with the family.
Sad to hear RIP