New Juan Diego Catholic High School swimming coach Chad Starks has been swimming for as long as he can remember. “I think my parents had me go so I would stay out of trouble. Never really looked back. I have basically swam my whole life,” he said, noting that he was a distance swimmer at West Jordan High School. 

Starks is now bringing his lifelong passion for the sport to Juan Diego to head up the program after successful coaching stints at Jordan and most recently at Judge Memorial, where his boys three-peated from 2021 to 2023 and the girls Bulldogs squad won consecutive titles in 2022 and 2023.

But Starks hasn’t removed himself from swimming as he accomplished what’s known as the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming where he swam the English Channel, Catalina Channel and around the island of Manhattan, achieving the feat Aug. 17, 2019. He became the third Utahn to swim the English Channel and the third from the state to earn the Triple Crown.

Starks got into coaching to give back to the swimming community. He and his wife additionally own the USA swim club Wasatch Water Dragons locally. “I also wanted to give back to the kids so that they can compete in a sport and have the feeling of being on a team that some wouldn’t usually be able to,” Starks said. “Swimming has always been a place to go when kids had no other place to go. Everyone always brings everyone close and it’s a family.”

The 3A boys coach of the year in 2023 joined former JDCHS swimming coach John Moran last season to assist the program with the intent to step into Moran’s shoes when he stopped coaching. Starks said the swimmers have been tremendous in the transition. “This is all about the kids,” he said. “I love to see them improve and swim their best. It is awesome to see the look on their faces when they achieve a personal best time and watch them complete in something that they never thought they could do.”

Starks also emphasizes the “student” aspect of his student-athletes. “I make sure they know that school is the number one priority,” he said. “If they need help they come to swim to get the help they need. I make sure all the kids have access to the help with schoolwork that they need and a lot of our swimmers help each other to ensure that the school work is completed. These kids are great to coach.”λ