'I want to build a great culture': Scott Fortier is the new Panama City Swim Team coach

PANAMA CITY BEACH — The Panama City Swim Team has announced the hire of its new head coach: Scott Fortier.

According to a press release from the Panama City Swim Team, the team is a local competitive swim club that has operated under the guidelines of USA Swimming for the past 70 years.

Fortier, a Tallahassee native, joins the Panama City Swim Team from his recent position as head coach of the St. Croix Dolphins and the Virgin Islands National Team in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Fortier started coaching at age 15 in Tallahassee in 2010.

He swam and coached throughout his high school years, then attended the University of Alabama, where he was a student coach his junior and senior years. After coaching at Alabama, Fortier coached at LSU, Tiger Aquatics, and the University of Cincinnati.

In 2012, Fortier was a U.S Olympic Trial qualifier. Fortier's other accolades include being Junior National finalist and a Florida Swimming record holder. He reflected on how this impacted his career.

"Qualifying for the Olympic Trials changed my career in a lot of ways," Fortier said. "That experience required a lot of discipline and taught me a lot about going after your goals. Putting in hard work and dedication when no one is watching translated from my swimming career to my coaching career."

Being a native of Tallahassee, Fortier competed in many swim meets in Bay County. He has experience visiting Bay County since he was a child.

Fortier spoke on what he is going to bring to the Panama City Swim Team.

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"I hope to instill a love and passion for swimming on the team," Fortier said. "Speaking from experience, it can be a lot of hard work, but that hard work can instill lifelong values in you. The commitment and discipline of the sport is what I want to emphasize on this team. I want to build a great culture to this program and help my swimmers reach their goals."

This article originally appeared on The News Herald: 'I want to build a great culture': Scott Fortier is the new Panama City Swim Team coach