VARSITY ATHLETICS

February 20, 2008

Swim Coach Reflects On The Road To Rochester...

By Head Swimming & Diving Coach Chris Conlon

This morning I woke up and I swear that it felt like Christmas morning; is this really the day that we are finally heading to the UAA championships? Yes, indeed it is.

We are currently on the road on our way to Rochester, NY for the 2008 UAA Swimming & Diving Championships. We are a long way from where we were as a team when we started training way back in September. Our coaches are so excited about how well everyone has come together and how hard we have worked throughout the year. This meet is going to be a celebration for us; rewarding all of that hard work with some amazing swims.

The UAA championship is the fastest conference championship in the nation. It is a 3-day trials/finals meet and every team will be at their best as we compete and work to qualify swimmers for the NCAA championships. Almost everyone on our team has done a pre-shave with electric clippers and most of this afternoon will be spent shaving down completely and making sure that everything is ready to go for our first races tomorrow. The anticipation is high and I know that once we put on our Fast Skins and step on the blocks we will be ready to go.

Right now, the team is mostly sleeping or reading quietly. In a few minutes we’ll start watching the movie Miracle, about the 1980 US Olympic hockey team and their amazing run to the gold medal that year. Our team is a very young team and there are so many themes throughout that movie that resonate with our team; most especially that great things can be accomplished through perseverance and working as a team..

It is really fun for me to be talking with our coaches about all of the amazing things our swimmers do in the pool and the classroom. We are so fortunate to have the opportunity to work with very dedicated and intelligent young people. Last night, I spoke with an alumnus of our program, John Erickson, who called me to wish the team well before we left. John is the conference record holder in the 50 Freestyle, and NCAA All-American and is currently pursuing his MD/PhD at Vanderbilt University. It makes me so proud to know that I have an opportunity to work with folks like him who have come through our program, grown as people and are out beyond college achieving great things.

I hope that you enjoy following our team’s results on-line as much as we are going to enjoy swimming fast and having fun as a team this weekend!

Let’s Go Spartans!

Posted by: Creg Jantz February 20, 2008 03:17 PM | Category: Men's Swimming

Posted by: cnj4 (Creg Jantz) February 20, 2008 03:17 PM | Comments (0) | Trackback