Amanda Caldwell’s recent visit to the CSCAA (College Swimming Coaches Association of America) annual conference and convention had special meaning for two reasons.

First, she did so to accept the long sought after Jean Freeman Scholarship. Second, she did so as the newly-minted head coach at Georgia Southern.

Following a six-year stint as an assistant at Rice University, the 2001 Martins Ferry High School graduate accepted her first head coaching position with the Eagles, a member of the NCAA Division I Sun Belt Conference.

“We are absolutely thrilled to have Amanda join Eagle Nation as the new head coach of our swimming and diving program,” Georgia Southern athletic director Tom Kleinlein said in a release issued by the school about her hiring.

“Her club and collegiate ties to the Georgia area, as well as her experience in developing and coaching championship swimmers collegiately, will help us take our program to the next level.”

Caldwell is returning home, in a sense. Prior to joining the Owls program, Caldwell worked as a volunteer assistant at Georgia Tech, while also coaching for the Dynamo Swim Club in Atlanta.

“This is something I’ve been looking for someday and actively pursuing for about a year,” Caldwell, the daughter of Jim and Bobbi Howard, said by phone Friday. “I’m surprised it happened so quickly, but I’m not going to complain.”

Caldwell said last year she started to really pursue her goal of building her own program and began speaking communicating with her peers about the process of making it happen.

Along the way, she started looking at jobs that were open, including those at her alma mater, Youngstown State, as well as at Ohio University.

“I was being very picky when I was looking,” Caldwell said. “There are a lot of (NCAA) D1 jobs open right now and I really wanted to focus in on a strong conference, one where the school and program looked like it had an opportunity to grow.

“I wanted to put my stamp on it.”

In Georgia Southern, located in Statesboro, Caldwell said she found a school and program that met all of her criteria.

“What’s attractive is the team culture is already big at the school and big in the community,” she said. “It’s not far off from what I’m used to right now. I like the challenge there.”

The response, Caldwell said, from the swimming community in and around the school has been tremendous thus far. She’s looking forward to building relationships throughout the southern part of the country.

“I’ve had a lot of great support from club coaches down there reaching out,” she said.

And, so far, Caldwell’s interactions with the returning Eagle swimmers have been pleasant. The new coach is continuing the process of meeting her athletes.

“I don’t get on campus until later this month or the beginning of June, so right now I’m trying to build relationships with all of my athletes. I want to get to know them and get a sense of where they’re at and how they want me to help plan they’re season.”

Seth Huston, the head coach at Rice, firmly believes Caldwell will guide Georgia Southern in the right direction.

“Georgia Southern has made a great decision in hiring Amanda to lead its swimming and diving program,” he said via release. “Amanda has been deliberately preparing for this opportunity throughout her career. She will elevate team expectations and performances with a caring and accountable heart.”