Blair Eckstrom. If you or one of your friends swam with either of the Columbia Heights High School (CHHS) swim and dive teams, you’ve probably heard the name before. The legendary now ex-head coach for the CHHS boys’ and girls’ swim and dive teams has a legacy that dates back several years, so who is succeeding him now that he has stepped down?
Eckstrom held his role for over 20 years, and for most of that time, it was right here at CHHS. Eckstrom and swimming were synonymous for so many who frequented the chlorine-scented north wing locker rooms. Very well-known in the community and constantly supportive and accommodating for our student athletes, Eckstrom submitted his resignation to the Activities Department just after the completion of the 2024-2025 season earlier this year. Eckstrom decided the move was what was best for his own health and well-being and so he could spend more time devoted to other passions.
Even with this change, Eckstrom will always be remembered as a kind person who had a love for teaching people how to swim competitively. Many students both past and present loved Eckstorm because he was funny, often sympathetic and just the right amount of harsh to push his students to improve but still make them feel welcome.
“It is definitely a big change, and as a younger coach it feels a bit intimidating to step into such a big role,” Alexon said when asked how she feels about stepping up and taking on the role of head coach in the place of Eckstrom, “I [was] an assistant coach for the girls team this season under their new head coach Kelsey Asjes, and we learned a lot about the process together, [so] I am optimistic that this will be a good season despite the changes”
With this step down from Eckstrom, CHHS welcomes Coach Samantha Alexon as Eckstrom’s successor, taking on the role of head coach for the CHHS Swim and Dive boys team, with Kelsey Asjes acting as the girls’ head coach. In previous years, Alexon was Assistant Coach under Eckstrom, and now, with this opportunity, the CHHS alumnus (Class of 2019) has been promoted. Although their teaching styles differ, there is a relative similarity between Alexon’s and Eckstrom’s coaching methods, which is just as apparent in her work as Assistant Coach. Eckstrom loved to adopt a so-called sink-or-swim technique where students either forced themselves to learn something or hold back the team, and Alexon teaches through very repetitive actions until everyone learns. Their coaching tactics remain very similar despite these differences, with both Eckstrom and Alexon being very supportive and pushing their team to do the best both in practice and in meets.
Alexon also works as a speech pathologist in Columbia Heights Public Schools (CHPS), providing a valuable and specialized service to students in Heights. When in high school, Alexon was a member and captain of many teams, including the CHHS girls’ swimming, gymnastics, and synchronized swimming teams—not to mention Co-Editor-in-Chief of The Heights Herald during her senior year. Student input on Alexon as new head coach is clearly and overwhelmingly positive while still paying respect to Eckstrom’s previous experience and years of service.
“I think that Sam being the new head coach is going to be awesome because I know she will push us really hard,” CHHS student Oliver Carter (11) said. “The most tiring workouts were coach Sam’s workouts [when she] was the assistant coach. I think that she will really make the team disciplined and improve drastically because she is a great teacher.”
Another important note to make about the future of CHHS swimming is the topic of assistant coaches. The new assistant coach for the 2025-2026 season is Sunshine Carter, mother of swimmers Oliver and Simon Carter as well as alumna swimmer Bea Carter (Class of 2024). This development will bring an interesting dynamic to the team and hopefully increase team morale and performance overall.
Alexon and Carter certainly have their work cut out for them to live up to Eckstrom’s reputation. According to most swimmers, though, she will do just fine. Swimmers from the 2024-2025 season were overwhelmingly sad to hear Eckstrom leaving, but also happy to see Alexon step up and fill his shoes.
Although Eckstrom will be incredibly missed, Alexon filling his role signifies a whole new era for the future of CHHS swimming and diving and will hopefully offer a new perspective. It will be an interesting dynamic shift, along with the addition of Carter, that will provide something different than what’s been seen before at Heights swimming, at least in the last 20+ years. Whatever comes though, there’s no doubt that we’re in for a good season with this lineup—that’s for sure.
