Latin School of Chicago

AT H L E T I C S Thicker Than Water Aquatics Director Celeste Laub-Norman and coach Danielle Carlson '06 talk about their unique bond "I especially watch the kids who are better than we are. I ask myself, 'Why are they better?'" – Celeste Laub-Norman 14 L AT I N M AGAZINE Second grade assistant teacher and alumna Danielle Carlson's first memories of Celeste Laub-Norman are a bit fuzzy. She was 3 years old and competing in the Tiny Tot swim meet at the Chicago Park District's Portage Park pool. "Celeste was in the pool swimming with us because we were so tiny," Carlson recalled. "At the time, she had all these animal swim caps and I remember how fun it was to have an alligator swimming along beside me." Laub-Norman, who has been the Aquatics Director at Latin School since 1998 and heads both the Learn to Swim program and the Chicago Latin Swim Club (which feeds high school swim programs throughout the city), has now been a coach and mentor to Carlson for more than 22 years. From the Tiny Tot program, Carlson went on to swim on the Portage Park swim team, which Laub-Norman coached. When LaubNorman started the club team at Latin, Carlson followed – this time taking public transportation every day after school during her middle school years from Norridge (on the far Northwest Side) to Latin. When it came time for high school, Carlson, a strong student interested in pursuing academic challenges, applied to Latin. Carlson had a successful high school swim career and qualified multiple times for state under Laub-Norman. She went on to swim at Colby College, where she holds the school record in the 400 individual medley (4:34.10) and was part of the 800 freestyle relay record team. She also earned a Collegiate Swimming Coaches Association of America honorable mention and academic All-American honors. Over the last three years, after her day of assisting in the classroom at Latin was done, she helped Laub-Norman coach Latin Swim Club. "Celeste is so knowledgeable," Carlson said. "I learned everything I know about swimming from her." Carlson is one of many Chicagoans who learned to swim from Laub-Norman during her 40 years of teaching and then went on to successful high school and college careers. Laub-Norman coached numerous state age group and senior champions, a national age group record holder in three events and a finalist at the 1996 Olympic Swimming Trials. Since coming to Latin, she has coached a two-time state champion, two All-Americans, five state finalists, a national finalist and an Olympic Trial qualifier. More than a dozen of

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