In August of 2023, just three days prior to the beginning of the girl’s season, East Grand Rapids Swim and Dive lost one of their very own, Chris Ingram.

To say Chris changed lives is an understatement.

When we walked into the pool Monday for the first time since he died, the senior swimmers and I immediately looked to the railing where Chris used to stand and felt his absence.

The program is forever altered by the knowledge, comfort, and loud yelling that Chris brought to the pool.

Chris had coached alongside Butch Briggs since 2008, a crucial part of the swim program’s success and team atmosphere.

It’s difficult to capture the type of person that Chris was. He was funny. He was loud. And his humor was harsh at times, but we knew he cared.

“He nicknamed me Mario Kart because I was hit by a car,” Ava Bennett ‘24 said.

Chris was never afraid to say exactly what was running through his mind, it only made us better.

Even though he gave me a hard time, too, sometimes, we had many meaningful conversations about the future and how I wanted to spend the rest of my high school years.

He truly understood the difficulty of the sport, physically, but especially mentally. Chris’s tough demeanor and ability to say exactly what he was thinking, without filter, shaped the program to become not only better swimmers but better people.

“He used to yell at us right before we left the wall and then randomly give us the best advice ever, but then he would yell at us two seconds later for not leaving on time,” Lindsey Michell ‘24 said.

Just by looking at Chris, you could tell his life was not easy.

He lost his leg while battling alcoholism, something he was always comfortable making a joke about or threatening to use his prosthetic as a weapon if you didn’t get back in the pool.

He was a great coach, but more than that he was a great person.

Chris’ protective demeanor and grit shaped so many and the East Grand Rapids swimming program will always be grateful for his guidance and strength. Though the team would be better if he were here, Chris will continue to live on through every one of his swimmers.

We hope that East Grand Rapids will continue to remember Chris for his dedication and love for his swimmers.