The WSU women’s swim team will welcome Kate Moore as the assistant coach after the swim program’s funding was cut at her previous institution.

Moore coached at her alma mater, East Carolina University, for 10 years before taking the job at WSU.

“ECU is essentially where I got my start, so I was really grateful to work there, it just all worked out in such an amazing way,” Moore said. “I’ve worked there basically since I graduated in 2007 until this year.”

From a young age, Moore enjoyed swimming, which later led her to compete on the swim team in high school. She eventually competed and later served on the coaching staff at ECU.

Moore said she coached swimming during the summers of her undergraduate studies at ECU, but she did not always plan to be a coach.

When she graduated from ECU, she looked around for jobs in physical education, but then the head coach at ECU asked Moore to come work with the team as a graduate assistant.

“It was originally a part-time job for the summer,” Moore said. “The staff really liked me and so they created a full-time position to keep me on more permanently.”

Moore said working at ECU was a special experience. She said her bittersweet move to WSU is a result of the ECU swim program being cut from the school.

“I knew they were hiring over in Washington and after talking to the head coach, Matt Leach, and getting to know more about him and where he wants to take the program, I was really eager and inspired to join the team,” Moore said.

She said although she is excited to be part of the Cougar community, she will miss her colleagues and the team at ECU.

A friend and colleague of Moore, Brie Berkowitz, who is also an assistant pole vault coach at ECU, shared a similar sentiment.

“I didn’t start out working at ECU like Kate did, but since 2012, we have worked together as coaches in our respective sports where we first became friends, so that has been really cool,” Berkowitz said.

Moore and Berkowitz met during their time as student-athletes at ECU in the same major.

Berkowitz said because she and Moore handle similar coaching responsibilities, it is easy for them to collaborate on different coaching methods.

“[We understand] that the athletes are working to reach their own goals, but their work is also reflected in the team’s effort, so we often work together to break down the basics and come up with new strategies for our teams,” Berkowitz said.

Reflecting on Moore’s character, Berkowitz said she thinks Moore is determined and will achieve great heights at WSU.

“Kate is such a go-getter — Washington State is lucky to have gotten her,” she said. “She’s such a shining star, she has so much charisma and she’s so passionate about her sport.”

Berkowitz said she has always admired Moore’s work ethic and will support Moore wherever her career takes her.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, Moore said she is unsure of how the season will go and she eagerly looks forward to competing.

“I haven’t been out west yet, so I’m really excited to get over to Washington and officially meet the team,” Moore said. “It seems like we have a great group of kids, and I can’t wait to work with them this season and hopefully get some of them qualified for NCAA.”