Jim Shuck is an Indianapolis native who went to Indiana University to swim collegiately. At Indiana University, he received a Bachelor of Science in Biology. From there, he went to Butler University to earn his Master's in Business Administration. When Shuck was a teenager, his father, a construction manager on the pool, brought the construction plans home that outlined the new facility at IUPUI. Shuck was a part of the team that swam in the Natatorium pool for the first time so to say that IUPUI was embedded into his DNA is an understatement. After a stint as a graduate assistant at Butler's Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving program during his years studying for a MBA, he found himself in the heart of Indianapolis at a swimming pool on IUPUI soil.
Jim Shuck was a pioneer in the Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving program. Jim Shuck was the first coach in the program's history upon IUPUI's entry to Division I. He is the only coach in IUPUI's history to be named The Summit League (formerly the Mid-Continent Conference) Coach of the Year on four separate occasions. He was also named the Men's Swimming and Diving Coach of the Year on three occasions. He was named the Women's Swimming and Diving Coach of the Year once. While in his tenure at IUPUI, the men's team has earned 44 all-conference honors with the women's team earning 32 all-conference selections.
Currently, Shuck is an ambassador for Saint Vincent's Cardiac Care Program and does advocacy work for the Indiana Donor network. He also competes in the Transplant Games of America and the World Transplant Games.
Shuck laid the foundation for IUPUI student-athletes to pave their own way and succeed on the Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving program.
What specifically made you want to be the first coach in IUPUI's Swimming and Diving history?
My dad brought the construction plans home when I was a teenager, so I knew the plans for the pool from the beginning. He was a construction manager and very hands on with the process. Mike Carroll was a big supporter of athletics, and I knew his daughters through swimming. I sold programs that benefited the IUPUI Men's Basketball team when I was a teenager as well. Being a part of the swimming community and seeing what the Natatorium means for not only Indianapolis swimming, but for the world, was just a beautiful part of loving the sport. I was there at the beginning.
How did your time as a student-athlete at Indiana University prepare you to coach?
My experience at Indiana University was extremely special because of the coach I swam for. James "Doc" Counsilman was the sincere best. He was the father of modern-day swimming. We were able to win his last three Big 10 championships and I have learned a tremendous amount from him. He passed on a lot of technical knowledge and gave me the inspiration to coach myself. He brought us together and created a team that really felt like second families to all of us.
What did you enjoy most about the student-athletes you coached?
I loved working with the type of student-athlete who could set an achievable goal and worked their tail off to achieve it. The type of student-athlete who overcame obstacles to achieve their particular goal. I really enjoyed those who really did not know what they wanted to do in school too because they always found their way eventually. They worked their tail off to succeed even though they didn't know where exactly they were going with their pursuits. They brought that determination into the pool and into their athletic community. It could have been vice versa as well. The pool could be motivating their pursuits in the classroom. Swimming gave them a foundation to work hard, which translated over into their academics. Working with the kids who had the motivation to excel in both arenas, academics and athletics, were my favorite. We did have a diver, Chen Ni, who was an NCAA champion. Her abilities were unique and special to be that level champion. She was a remarkable competitor.
What is your favorite memory as a coach?
Some of the Hall of Fame celebrations are up there in my favorite memories because it was a result of hard work for an outstanding performance. It wasn't just working hard but working smart and being a good student. It was about managing your time in a way that was beneficial. Then, when it culminated to a great performance at the end, particularly when it was a team effort, the momentum was just very high. A favorite memory I had early in my career was when the student-athletes got so excited I was named Coach of the Year. It wasn't the Coach of the Year award that excited me the most, but rather the student-athletes chasing me around the pool. They were so thrilled that I had to duck into the hospitality room to get away from them. My job is to get my student-athletes to perform, and I was just doing my job so to see them care that much that I got an award meant a lot to me.
What do you miss the most about coaching?
I still swim limitedly so I am still around the sport. My wife swims as well so it's nice to spend that time with her too. I was able to keep up with the Jaguars really well until Covid shut me down in terms of going out in person to watch their meets. I miss the team the most. I have great associations with individuals now that it would be hard to even list how many influential people there are. I miss the unity of a team working together to achieve their goals.
