After a highly successful swimming career at the University of Kentucky, North Allegheny High School graduate Jessica Siegele had planned to leave behind the sport in which she had competed -- and competed quite well -- for almost her entire life.

So off to graduate school at the University of Central Florida she went. But while in the process of earning a master's degree that she thought would lead to a career in sports administration, Siegele had an epiphany during her stint as a graduate assistant coach at UCF.

"I waned to be working with athletics, but not necessarily as a coach," said Siegele, who resides in Marshall Township. "But when I started coaching in grad school, I realized I really love this and wanted to do this as a career."

Siegele recently was given the opportunity to take the next step in such a career -- and to take it in her hometown.

A former WPIAL and PIAA champion and two-time NCAA All-American, Siegele was named an assistant coach of the University of Pittsburgh swimming and diving team last month.

"I had a desire to move up in coaching, and it just worked out perfectly that it was in Pittsburgh," Siegele said. "I was looking for a D-I job after a year at Ashland, which is Division II. Pitt came calling, contacted the coach at Ashland, who was very supportive. He didn't want to stand in my way and knew I would be excited to come back to Pittsburgh. It worked out really well. I'm glad to be back."

A 2001 graduate of North Allegheny, Siegele graduated from Kentucky four years later as a four-year letter-winner, three-year captain and three-time school record-holder.

In addition to her coaching experience at Central Florida while she earned her master's, Siegele spent the past year as an assistant at Ashland University in Ohio helping to guide eight swimmers to the NCAA Division II championships.

She also served in an internship with the United States Association of Blind Athletes and had a stint as an assistant coach with the Trinity Preparatory School and Trinity Preparatory Aquatics.

In 2003, Siegele competed at the Irish National Swimming Championships in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where she won seven gold medals.

"We are excited to have Jessica on staff," Panthers head coach Chuck Knoles said in a press release. "Jessica brings a strong competitive background and has been successful coaching at the high school and Division II level.

"We are excited about the positive attitude and enthusiasm that Jessica will bring to our program."

Siegele has several connections to the Pitt program, most notably with fellow assistant coach Aaron Workman, who is married to her sister, Jaime, who also swam at Kentucky.

She also spent a few summers swimming with Team Pittsburgh, which competes at Pitt's Trees Pool. That was the site of many of her meets throughout her youth and high school years. Pitt recruited her to swim there, but Siegele wanted to attend college away from home.

Having taken up the sport at a very young age, Siegele said she started to focus exclusively on it in eighth grade.

"Both my older sisters [Jaime and Jennifer] swam all through high school and also through college," Siegele said. "I got thrown into it at 4 or 5 years old."

Her high school highlight as an individual swimmer was winning the 2000 PIAA 100-yard backstroke championship.

After devoting a couple decades of her life to the sport, Siegele initially thought swimming might take a back seat in her life after her college career ended. But she still finds something inside of her pushing her to jump back into that pool -- Figuratively and literally.

"Depending on the season, I do," she said. "I definitely got the itch watching the Olympic Trials over the past month. It drove me to get back in the pool.

"Last winter I was in the pool almost five days a week, swimming almost as much yardage as I did in college, just because I missed it. I still love it. I miss the days of competing and training like I did."