Coaches’ Corner is a feature series that highlights head coaches of Ateneo sports teams along with the significant work they do in bringing out the best of teams and athletes. In this first installment, we explore the journey of Coach Archie Lim with Ateneo and how he orchestrated a remarkable turnaround in the University’s swimming teams. 

AN INSTRUMENTAL figure in the FAST Ateneo Swimming Team’s (FAST) first successful championship run, Coach Archimedes “Archie” Lim continues to steer Ateneo swimming towards unparalleled success in his reign as program director and coach.

After securing the crown in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 75, Ateneo’s men’s and women’s swimming teams were left hungry for more, determined to mark their territory in the waters. Firm towards this goal, both teams were victorious in defending their sixth and third consecutive titles, respectively, during the last active collegiate games—all under Lim’s keen supervision.

Such exceptional records are owed to Lim’s coaching style, rooted in his passion for the sport and his rich experience in both the local and international competitive scenes.

The making of a coach

Immediately swimming competitively as a child at seven years old, Lim initially saw swimming simply as part of a routine that involved joining swim clubs and attending training. It was only in high school that he started making his own decisions as a student-athlete and seeing swimming in a different light—a change of heart that is well-reflected in both his international and collegiate careers.

Prior to college, Lim was already a contender for international competitions such as the Southeast Asian Games. However, he decided to focus on representing the University of the Philippines in the UAAP, where he excelled in different events and bagged multiple medals each season. He snatched an Athlete of the Year award in his second year of college and was previously a Swimmer of the Year awardee, all while pursuing a degree in Computer Engineering.

Even while Lim juggled academics, swimming and a job in microchip design, he did not miss an opportunity that paved the way for his acclaimed career as a swim coach. While still in college, Lim filled in for a head coach who left the Ayala Heights Swimming Club. Eventually, he and his brother decided to form a team that later became Coach A. Lim (CAL) Swim School. With this platform, he guided swimmers of the national junior team who represented the country in various international tournaments. Finding more fulfillment in coaching than his degree-related profession, Lim eventually dedicated himself full-time to the former as it enabled him to positively impact the lives of athletes beyond their careers.

“There’s always something higher to achieve. Every morning is an opportunity to improve the swimmers, to [help them] achieve their goals. It’s about being able to influence how they work, think, and look at life in general,” Lim mentioned.

With a solid athletic background both as a coach and a talented swimmer himself, Lim joined the Ateneo swimming program with abounding potential capable of bringing the university’s swim teams to the top of the game.

Building the program

In UAAP Season 70, Lim became the Head Coach of FAST, which had never won a UAAP Men’s or Women’s championship prior to his arrival. By taking over, Lim was charged with the daunting challenge of turning the tide in a program that was unaccustomed to winning titles. However, Lim quickly proved that he was up to the task in his second year by orchestrating the Ateneo Women’s Swimming Team’s  first championship.

Lim’s appointment brought immediate success instigated by a change in culture—a result of him constantly convincing the team that they could become the best in the UAAP. However, to help the team achieve their new goal, Lim also engineered wholesale changes to the team’s training routine.

“I’m not familiar with how they trained previously, but based on how surprised they were when I said, ‘We’re training 10 times a week and twice a day on some days,’ [it] makes me sure they weren’t doing that before,” he said.

In addition to implementing a more frequent and rigorous training regimen in the pool, Lim also enlisted the teams to undertake conditioning training and to adopt a healthier lifestyle.

“Aside from swimming more, we also added conditioning by doing gym and land training everyday to add five or six more sessions per week. I also told them to manage their diet, sleep, and how their decision to drink [alcohol] and go out influences their performance,” he added.

An ongoing dynasty

While Lim’s changes swiftly paid dividends, they only truly started to bear fruit in his eighth year with the program.

In UAAP Season 77, FAST won its first double championship, marking the beginning of a new era characterized by unprecedented success from the Blue and White. Since UAAP Season 77, the Ateneo Men’s Swimming Team has won six consecutive titles—seven of the last eight championships. Likewise, the Ateneo Women’s Swimming Team has also dominated, as they are currently three-time defending champions and have won five of the last six UAAP titles.

With FAST becoming a superpower, Lim has been presented with a new set of challenges that are drastically different from the ones he faced when he took over. According to Lim, continuing the championship streak has mounted immense pressure on the team due to being marked and imitated by rivals. For the championship-winning coach however, a more pressing issue associated with their established dominance has been preventing complacency within the team.

“What’s harder [than being targeted as a successful team] is [that] our swimmers become more relaxed because they know they can always win, especially when we’re at the [level] that we’re not just winning but we’re also dominating the competition,” said Lim.

To address these concerns, Lim tasked the team with more ambitious goals, such as clinching a gold medal in every event for one UAAP Season. His encouragement was heeded by the swimmers, as the Men’s Team nearly swept the tournament in Season 78—winning 19 out of a possible 21 gold medals.

“We had one swimmer who was placing third or fourth [previously] but suddenly won a gold medal, so we kept raising the bar so everyone [had] that same mindset of individual excellence,” he explained.

By accepting Lim’s challenge to elevate their game, FAST has always remained determined to win—a significant element of how they have established their dominance.

A successful turnaround

For the past six UAAP Seasons, FAST has been on a dynastic run of winning championships. However, this was not always the case in the annals of UAAP history, as FAST never won a championship until Lim’s arrival. Behind Lim’s extensive experience in the pool and his knack for coaching, FAST morphed from an unheralded team into one of the most dominant in UAAP history. Moreover, Lim’s significant contributions in orchestrating FAST’s turnaround has helped establish himself as one of the most impactful coaches in the history of Ateneo swimming.