Fort Mill High School’s Cindy Van Buskirk named to the SC Swim Coaches Hall of Fame

Fort Mill Yellow Jackets head swimming coach Cindy Van Buskirk is the newest member of the South Carolina Swim Coaches Hall of Fame.

The veteran coach received the honor this past weekend at the swimming state championships in North Charleston.

Van Buskirk, who is currently the president of the South Carolina Swim Coaches Association, said the honor caught her completely off guard. After all, Van Buskirk joined a select group when she was tabbed for the Hall of Fame: She is only the 10th coach to be inducted into the prestigious group.

“I had no idea that I had been nominated, much less voted into the Hall of Fame,” she told The Herald in a phone interview. “I have been blessed over the years to have great young people swim in our program. In addition, I had some very good coaches to help me.”

Van Buskirk has been the head coach at Fort Mill for 14 years. She served as assistant with the Yellow Jackets for two years before being elevated to the top spot.

“My years as head coach have been phenomenal,” she added. “We have created a culture here that is very good. We stress sportsmanship, hard work, camaraderie and believing in the true spirit of competition.”

Fort Mill is a perennial power in the region. The Yellow Jackets have also done well in the past in the state meets. The reason for the long run of success is quite simple: Van Buskirk’s swimmers believe in her and respect her.

“Respect is something that you have to earn,” she added. “You cannot demand it. ... I do not apologize for being tough on them. At the same time, I have always encouraged them to compete and do their best. I have also told them that I am always here for them.”

Van Buskirk, who grew up in Iowa, said the environment that surrounds the Fort Mill swimming program is a supportive one, and it has helped that good swimmers keep coming into the program. Fort Mill has had numerous swimmers go on to compete in the sport in college.

Dwayne Hartsoe, who is the athletic director at Fort Mill, is the administrator responsible for elevating Van Buskirk to her current position.

“She was the assistant coach, and I looked at what she brought to the program, so I put her in charge,” he said. “She was involved in swimming in the community already, and she has done a super job over the years.”

Hartsoe believes that all athletic programs should be well-rounded, and that every sport should have the best possible coaching, facilities and equipment.

“That is super important,” he added. “She is very organized, and she takes care of everything with her program. She has great rapport with the kids, and her success has been excellent.”

Editor’s note: A previous version of this article used a picture that was submitted to The Herald without the consent of the original photographer. It was a photo taken by Mac Banks for the Fort Mill Prep Sports website. The Herald regrets the confusion and subsequent mistake.

This story was originally published October 15, 2021 at 6:00 AM.