Club Wolverine head coach Jim Whitehead is no longer the head coach of the program, departing after more than two years in charge. He was removed from the role by the parent board, and associate head coach Tony Carroll has been promoted to interim head coach. An email to the team was vague about the reasons for the split, though an insider described it as an interpersonal conflict with a member of the board of directors.
“This decision was made after thorough debate and review, with a focus on ensuring the best long-term interests of the club,” an email to the team said. “It has the unanimous support of the executive committee of our board of directors. We want to reassure you that we have a plan in place to ensure a smooth transition for our swimmers, families, and coaches.”
Whitehead told SwimSwam he was heartbroken by the decision, enjoyed his time at Club Wolverine and wants nothing but the best for the club’s swimmers.
Whitehead joined Club Wolverine in 2023 and became head coach when Gunnar Schmidt joined the varsity staff at the University of Michigan. At the time, that brought one of the most successful coaches from the western part of the state, Schmidt, to the most successful program in the eastern part of the state, Club Wolverine.
Whitehead was previously the co-head coach of Michigan Lakeshore Aquatics in Holland, where he worked since 2015.
Whitehead attended East Carolina before ultimately graduating from Alabama.
Carroll also joined Club Wolverine in 2023. He has twice been named to the US National Junior Team coaches’ list in 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 when he was coaching at the Lakeside Swim Team in Kentucky.
Club Wolverine was named a bronze medal club in 2024, making them one of the top 200 clubs in the United States.
Club Wolverine has approximately 250 swimmers who train with the team at any given time. The team won the 10 & Under, 11-14, and 15 & over LSC Championships earlier this season.
Thanks to Coach Whitehead for all that he did for Club Wolverine. He coached them from the 44th ranked medium sized Age Group Team in the nation to 13th. He also coached them back to Silver Medal Club status. We were so fortunate to have you coaching our kids and wish you all the best going forward.
This was one of the crazier discussions on SS. Curious minds would like to know how this all shook out.
I truly hope no young swimmers will have to train under Jim in the future. We left CW one year after he joined because he ruined everything we used to love about the program. Although he never directly coached my child—and she actually continued to improve—his behavior made us very uncomfortable. He constantly showed off, lacked integrity, and often lied.
What bothered me most was how he played politics while pretending to care about the kids. It felt disingenuous. My child is under 10. Even though she’s still young, I don’t want her influenced by someone like him. That’s why we decided to leave.
I can’t speak to his ability as a coach, but as a person around… Read more »
Just out of curiosity, what is it you used to love about the program? I ask because you say you swimmer is under 10 so ‘…showed off, lacked integrity, and often lied’ describes the way the parent run board has operated for as long as you were a member. Many families, mine included, left the club because of the board during that time. I assure you any CW coach that has to deal with the board will have to play politics. Including the new guy. That’s how CW operates so again I’m genuinely curious what it is you loved about this model.
Thank you for sharing your perspective. I can’t really comment on the board side of things, because I honestly didn’t feel their presence much — until they let Jim go, which I actually supported.
CW’s coaching staff did a great job supporting my kid before he joined. My focus has always been on my child and how the coaches help her grow. But after Jim came in, I felt he interfered — not by actively helping, but by constantly reminding everyone that he was the head coach, without really contributing.
Every family has a different experience, and I completely respect that. I just wanted to share ours honestly. I wasn’t commenting on your experience, because I don’t know… Read more »
And I wasn’t commenting on your experience, I simply asked what it was you loved about the program. But now I’m wondering how you felt the Board’s presence once they fired Jim, when you also say you left CW a year ago.
I’m starting to understand why CW needs the Board, and I appreciate their courage in making the decision to fire Jim. I’m very happy with my current team, but if a good coach were to join CW, I’d be glad to come back. My focus has always been on the coaching — and in the last two years after Jim took over, only two coaches have stayed at CW.
No
Coach Jim is a great coach who cares EVERY swimmer in the team. He will be missed by many CW families. Wish him all the best ahead! Big loss for CW swimming community.
We left CW a year after he joined because he ruined everything we loved about the team.
The CW Board, as it stands now, is as unqualified and unethical as they come. As a previous poster mentioned, any accountability they were previously held to was stripped away from membership in the passing of the new bylaws, in a completely un democratic manner, a couple years back. THAT is the main reason our family, and many others, recently fled this club. Saw the writing on the wall and it looks like we weren’t wrong.
I also heard from friends still there, about a month before this happened, that more than one board members’ child had been overheard, ON DECK, saying they can get any coach they want fired. Appears that wasn’t just ‘kids being kids’.
Jim changed several of things with CW. The Board gave him chances to correct his mistakes and sent him to trainings to help him improve. It did not work clearly he was removed. The Board is made up of parents from the team that family members vote on. Any active member can participate in meetings most are by google. If you felt the board was unethical and are apart of CW did you say anything? I can tell you most people that were and are on the board 4 months ago are highly educated people that have great full time jobs and wouldn’t be able to keep said jobs if they are unethical. Facts are facts.
Jim unfortunately was let… Read more »
Having parents serve as a directors—especially with decision-making authority over hiring and firing—can appear unprofessional and raise concerns about potential conflicts of interest.
A parent has reached out to SafeSport and confirmed that Coach Whitehead is an eligible US Swimming Coach in good standing with USA Swimming. This is public information on the websites of either of the two related organizations: USA Swimming and separately, the US Center for Safe Sport. Anyone can contact these organizations and should do so if they want to confirm this information for themselves.
It is critical to have some transparency on this matter in order to protect a great Coach and his good name. You can easily see that allies to the CW Board are willing to make vicious, bullying comments to those that disagree, and as post-hoc justification, drag the Coach’s name through the mud. There… Read more »
Hence why a parent board should always be kept in check…
Many of us share the same concerns about the lack of transparency, the handling of Coach Whitehead’s departure, and the confusing communication from the board. The swimmers have been thriving both competitively and emotionally, and the sudden disruption—without clear explanation—feels like a disservice to them. This club should prioritize their well-being, growth, and stability above all else. We deserve honest answers and a process that truly reflects the values of the community.
Completely agree with AAST. Thank you for expressing how many of our families feel.
Would it be a conflict of interest for a board member to be a parent whose children are trained by the coach, as their opinions of the coach may be influenced by personal experiences, whether positive or negative?
For the well-being of the swimmers and Club Wolverine, the current executive committee should step aside. The three member at large parents and the age group chairperson are more than capable to take over as the executive committee; clearly a fresh start is needed.
There is a small group of families who have been spreading gossip and lies about Jim for months prior to this. They know who they are, we know who they are. It will be interesting how they move forward with CW knowing they have all been outed. There is likely a SafeSport violation that covers targeting of an individual – they have been relentless in their pursuit of his downfall, some of whom continued to spread lies and gossip about him even after they left CW.
Totally agreed.
They will move forward – safely.