Danielle Hulick Tansel learned to swim at Hawthorne Pool. She competed on her first swim team at Lakeside. She set records at Galesburg High School, ranked sixth in the country her junior year, and went on to swim at the University of Notre Dame.
Then she spent 25 years coaching at Michigan, Ohio State, SMU, Richmond, and Oakland University.
Now she’s back — and she’s running the pools she grew up in.
Tansel was appointed Recreation Supervisor for the City of Galesburg Parks and Recreation Department, with a concentration in aquatics. She started on the job Monday, April 13, and joined Galesburg’s Morning News on Friday morning to talk about what brought her home and what she hopes to build.
Danielle Hulick Tansel joined Galesburg’s Morning News on Friday, April 17. Listen to the full interview below.
What brought her back
“It’s where I was created,” Tansel said. “It’s where I learned to have great work ethic. The people are loyal. Doesn’t matter how long I go or how far I move away — you always come back.”
Tansel and her husband, also a collegiate coach, have a seven-year-old son. The constant movement of college coaching became harder to sustain, and when the Galesburg opening appeared, she said the timing felt right.
“I saw this opening at a time of transition and it was like — this is too perfect,” she said.
Her husband and son are currently still in Michigan as the family transitions. Tansel described running her life on two tracks simultaneously — but said the community response to her hiring made the decision feel right.
“When the article came out and all the support online — I just feel so loved,” she said. “I feel so supported.”
The career that brought her here
Tansel grew up swimming at Hawthorne Pool and Lakeside before joining the Galesburg High School program. Her coaches — Ray VanHootegem and Tom Burek — were formative. So was her father, who stretched her out in hotel hallways before state championship meets.
“Where do you think I learned to be loud?” she said of Burek. “Somebody asked me yesterday if I was as loud as Tom.”
By her junior year at GHS, she was ranked sixth in the country. She went to Notre Dame expecting to be ready — and found out quickly she wasn’t.
“I had just never trained that way,” she said. “These girls I swam with had been year-round club swimming. It was eye opening.”
She adapted. She went to her strength and conditioning coach, identified what she could offer, and worked from there. She finished her Notre Dame career as a record holder, NCAA qualifier, and four-time Big East champion.
Twenty-five years of college coaching followed — a career she said taught her as much about what she didn’t want to do as what she did.
“No matter where you go, it’s about culture and building relationships,” she said. “Everywhere you’re going to have toxicity, everywhere you’re going to have good people and bad people. It’s all about finding that fit.”
First impressions and a vision
Tansel is just one week into the job. Her first impressions of Galesburg’s aquatic infrastructure are positive — and she’s already thinking about what’s next.
Hawthorne Pool recently received millions of dollars in renovations. Lakeside Water Park opens for the season May 23. The city swim team is currently accepting registrations, and participants receive a free pool membership for the summer.
Tansel said the one area where Galesburg is missing is the competitive side of the sport.
“We’re missing the competitive arm,” she said. “Building that up a little bit more, working with area coaches and area pools, trying to get all of our area swimmers more opportunity for growth.”
Her broader vision is to make Galesburg an aquatic hub for the region — bringing in clinics, drawing swimmers from Peoria and surrounding communities, and making the pool a destination.
She also wants to make sure the water is welcoming to everyone — including adults who never learned to swim and people with disabilities.
“Some people are afraid of the water — even adults,” she said. “Adult learn-to-swim would be awesome. I want to make the water approachable for all.”
The aha moment
Whatever level she’s working with — elite college swimmers or beginners at a community pool — Tansel said what drives her is the same.
“My favorite thing, no matter what level I’ve coached, is the aha moment,” she said. “You see that in beginning swimmers and you see that in elite swimmers. That’s the part I really love.”
Lifeguards needed
One immediate priority: the city needs lifeguards. Tansel is specifically encouraging retirees to consider applying — she wants to expand daytime programming at Hawthorne, and student guards often aren’t available during school hours.
The city covers lifeguard certification costs for those who commit to at least 20 hours per week.
Softball registration also closes Monday for those interested in other city recreation programs.
