Upcoming Event: Swimming & Diving versus Boston College on September 26, 2025 at 4 p.m. Diving / 5 p.m. Swimming
/
4 p.m. Diving / 5 p.m. Swimming
Swimming & Diving
vs Boston College
Five for Friday with Assistant Coach Doak Finch
12/16/2016 9:15:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
DURHAM, N.C. – As the Blue Devil swimming and diving teams prepare to embark for training trips before beginning the second half of the season in January, GoDuke.com caught up with assistant coach Doak Finch to talk about his first few months at Duke.
1) Having competed and coached collegiately within the ACC, how did it feel returning to the conference this year?
Doak Finch: “Knowing the ACC conference, knowing how they put together championship teams because conferences have different numbers has helped a little bit. But even in my time away the ACC has changed so much with the addition of Louisville and Pittsburgh and has become a much faster and deeper conference overall. I'm excited to come back and excited to work with Coach [Dan] Colella and Coach [Dawn] Kane. I've been across the pool and I've admired them for many years and the work they've done in helping elevate the Duke program, and I'm excited to be a part of it now.”
2) You and Coach Colella have known each other for several years now. Can you talk about how you met and then ended up joining his coaching staff?
Finch: “There's a lot of time on pool deck, especially during conference championships, and coaches kind of get to know each other and chat a little bit, ask questions and really learn from each other. We had a couple of conversations during my time at Virginia and even at NCAAs during my time at Virginia and at Penn State. And just chatting with [Coach Colella] and getting to know him and Coach Dawn as people and as coaches, I think that's very important, knowing the people that you work with and who they are underneath.”
3) What has impressed you most about the Duke program during your first semester here?
Finch: “I've been impressed with a lot that I've seen. The student-athletes, the work ethic, the dedication and how they handle the time management. I've been impressed with the programs Coach Colella and Coach Kane have implemented and the team-building programs involving Leslie Barnes are fantastic. I believe the sport teaches you about yourself and who you are and how to make yourself successful, and so learning about yourself is super important – learning about those around you to help them be successful and not to add to the stress in their lives. And then being able to manage the stress in your life. Also working with different minds. Every single coach that I've worked with approaches things in a different way, so learning from them, how they put together workouts and how they handle different situations is exciting and always new. I hope I bring some of that to them.”
4) What are some of your goals or expectations for the team heading into the second half of the season?
Finch: “Duke's swimming and diving has been on the rise. It has been noticed by me and it has noticed by many around, and so to continue improving, to continue breaking swimming and diving school records and moving forward and rising up in the ranks in the ACC and the NCAA. With success comes a certain hunger; you want more of it. I hope that I can help Coach Colella, Coach Kane and Coach [Nunzio] Esposto to continue that progression and to bring a little bit of excitement and energy to the pool deck in my own way.”
5) As a native of North Carolina, how has it been to return to the state and what have you thought of the campus and Durham?
Finch: “I've always loved the Duke campus. Growing up, I had the opportunity to visit Duke a lot. I have an older sister and a twin sister and they did a lot of Duke sports camps growing up so I always knew the campus and the Chapel was absolutely beautiful. It was exciting to come back. I love beautiful campuses. I've been fortunate with the University of Virginia, and Penn State has a very beautiful campus as well. Coming back to North Carolina has been great. I'm about 75 minutes door to door from my mom and my twin sister. The weekends I haven't been busy, I've been visiting them and seeing my nephews and my niece. I haven't been able to explore much of Durham yet, but it is a tremendous town. Through my years, I've turned into more of a foodie and I hear there are a lot of great places to eat. Unfortunately, I haven't been to many of them. But that's something that as things settle down and I continue to get more comfortable here, I'll be able to get out and experience those things. The things that I have experienced here have been fantastic.”
Finch and the Blue Devil squads return to action Saturday, Jan. 14 in a 12 p.m. home meet against South Carolina.
#GoDuke
Duke Athletics: A Tour of Campus
Saturday, October 19
A Century of Blue Devil Brilliance
Saturday, October 19
Senior Social Kick: Kevin Explains Cubed Food Theory
Friday, March 10
Senior Social Kick: Brad Solves a Rubik's Cube
Friday, March 10
