Caleb Potvin joined the athletics staff at Smith in 2025 as the head swimming and diving coach, as well as the director aquatics.
Philosophy
A happy student-athlete is a high performing student-athlete. To achieve a happy student-athlete, a coach needs to prioritize their basic psychological needs. One of the most important is the sense of belonging. Coach Caleb deeply values the relationship between the coach and the athlete and takes the time to care for them beyond the pool. Excellence is a journey - not a destination. Each finish line becomes a new starting point. Excellence is a lifestyle - it's a relentless consistency with a commitment toward getting rid of mindsets like "what if I fail?" or "I need to win" and shifting instead toward "let's find out what happens." Coach Potvin is committed to helping each student-athlete understand that "trusting the process" is all about making that process about self-discovery by challenging one's self to their just manageable limits as often as possible.
Coaching Resume
Potvin was the recruiting coordinator and assistant coach at the University of New Hampshire from 2022-2025. During his 3 years, the team boasted a 19-3-1 dual meet record and won both the 2023 and 2025 America East Conference championships. The 2024-2025 season was a special one - as UNH went undefeated for the first time since 2005. Coach Caleb's recruiting efforts spearheaded one of the best classes in program history - with the class of of 2028 achieving the conference's rookie of the year and most outstanding swimmer of the year while having 3 from the class place in the top 6 for individual scoring from first-years at the championship meet.
From 2019-2022, Potvin led the formation of Stonehill College's inaugural varsity program with no on-campus facility. Coach Caleb led the team to an impressive 6-3 inaugural dual meet record with only 11 swimmers and recorded the highest non division 1 team finish at the 2021 ECAC winter championships. At the team's first NE-10 conference championship, Potvin coached the program's first ever conference champion in the 100-yard breaststroke.
Prior to Stonehill, Potvin spent time at Texas A&M learning from world championship athletes and coaches. Coach Caleb began his coaching career at the club level, leading the EDGE Swim Club to a 41-1 dual meet record from 2014-2018 and winning 5 consecutive league and state titles. Prior to his tenure, the team had never placed better than 4th at either meet.
Education
- B.A., History - Saint Michael's College - 2012
- M.Ed, Physical Education, Athletic Administration - Plymouth State University - 2025
Personal
Coach Caleb is a devoted husband and proud father. He has 3 children ages 6, 4 and 2. His favorite thing to do is to spend time with his wife and children. Additionally, Coach Caleb enjoys traveling, visiting national parks, hiking, camping, running, lifting weights, and eating ice cream. His current favorite ice cream flavor at Herrell's Ice Cream in Northampton is Black Raspberry Mudpie.
