DAPHNE, Alabama — It may be true to say some young coaches are a little wet behind the ears, especially in the sport of swimming.

But if experience is more the measure than youth, Daphne varsity swim coach — still a Daphne High senior — Jessica DuBose has what it takes and then some.

Including dry ears because the longtime varsity letterman (Five times, 7th-11th grades) is not competing in the water this year. But it's not injury that's keeping her towel and ears dry.

“I just have so much going on right now with school and work, but I still wanted to be a part of the team and it’s my senior season,” she said.

And when she says school, she means college as well as high school. Because of her academic standing DuBose is qualified to take collegiate courses while still at Daphne. She is enrolled at Faulkner State Community College and also works part time while maintaining her high-school grades and assistant-coach status with head coach Bryan Hunter.

“I’ve been here swimming with them (Daphne High) since I was in the seventh grade,” she said. “But also I really felt like I was just done competing, burned out maybe. But I still love helping my teammates get better and improve and I guess I’m kind of like a team mom on the team. And now that I’m not swimming, just coaching, I feel like I can really, really help and I love it.”

Hunter, a longtime basketball coach who had not coached varsity swimming before taking over the Daphne program three years ago, said having a high-level swimmer to help with technique and training has been great.

“It really worked out great,” he said. “Jessica has been the cornerstone of the program since I’ve been here. And she is just gifted when it comes to working with these kids. I'm not a swimmer, but I am a coach, so I know how to motivate most kids to want to do their best and give it all they've got. Now on the basketball court, where I would show them more of what I'm wanting them to do, I could. But not here. Jessica can. She has been like a player/coach since I took over and probably before. And she's not just a good instructor, she is and was a phenomenal all-state swimmer for us.

“She's fantastic at showing a kid what they're doing and what they should correct. Kinds of things that only a real swimmer sees. Plus of course there’s also Jessica the motivator. The kids want to please her, they look up to her and love to take what she gives them and turn it into a faster time. When that happens, they go straight to her and they’re all just beaming with her. It’s fun to watch.

“But this year, she is not focused on her on times, so I really let her have the training part of it. I focus on strategy after comparing times and events and all the administrative stuff and then get her input and feedback before the meet to maximize points.”

The next big meet is the Baldwin County championships tonight at Fairhope Municipal Pool. The county meet is also the last regular-season event before the Alabama High School Athletic Association state championship meet in December.

“I think we are going to do well at county and at state,” DuBose said. “We still have a lot of swimmers back from last year and some new ones that have improved a lot this year.”

The 17-year-old coach said a lot of people influenced her love of swimming, but a couple standout.

“Probably my mom and coach Rich (Suhs),” she said. “She told me that when I was little I would always jump off our houseboat into the water (Mobile Bay) whenever I got the chance. So she said that’s when they decided swimming lessons would be a good idea. I’m glad they did.”

Because she took to the sport of swimming so quickly, DuBose was soon competing against the best of the best and often against swimmers much older. With strong region and state-level competition times came more serious “lessons” and coach Rich Suhs, who has coached and trained swimmers at the highest levels.

“She was already good and good at helping the other kids by the time I got to know her,” Suhs said. “She has a kind of coaching nature. A nurturing spirit, I guess. I’ve been a coach for a long time and one of the most important things you need to have is respect. Especially when your young and coaching others in the same age range. It can be tough. But these kids all know her, know how good she is, that she knows what she’s talking about. But even if they didn’t (know her) I know she knows the sport so well that she would get that respect. But then the real challenge is how to motivate kids.” Suhs chuckled a little and said. “I laugh because I can remember that she wasn’s always so easy to motivate herself, the best swimmers often need to be pushed more than they like. And sometimes I would trick her — or try — into doing more or working harder and longer than she thought she needed to. And sometimes I’d have to be pretty creative with her. But that’s what coaching is all about, motivating that kid on the edge to commit. I can see it as a possible career path for her, but I’m sure she will be successful at whatever she does.”

DuBose plans to major in psychology, pursue graduate and post-graduate studies in the discipline and make it her profession.

“It’s really fascinating to me,” she said. “I’m taking a psychology course at Faulkner right now and it’s so interesting. I want to take it as far as I can and become a psychologist and help people. I would love to be able to keep coaching too if I can. I love it, but I may have to give it up for a while. Hope not, but we’ll see. If I do, maybe I can use what I learn in my psychology classes more. Swimming is kind of a sport that you have to prepare for on a mental level as well as the physical level. Especially for serious competitions.

“The body has to be in shape but your mind also has to be ready and want it. I’ve coached kids that really don't care about it at all and kids that are all about it. So there’s a range of attitudes to deal with. I like getting a kid who’s not sure to push themselves enough to find out for sure. And, I also like coaching kids who love it no matter what and just want you to help them improve. Sometimes the hardest thing is just getting them sticking with it until they find their best event.”

DuBose will transfer to the University of South Alabama when her work at FSCC is done.

Her best event was usually the freestyle sprints. She made all-state for three-straight years placing each time as high as second once and third twice. Her list of youth-league accomplishments is too long to list here.

As are those of her older brother Michael DuBose who was also a three-year, all-state swimmer at DHS and holder of a state title in the 100-Butterfly. He signed to Delta State University in 2010.