THE AQUEDUCT

Volume 1, Issue 1

HU SWIMMING & DIVING

-Coach Vaccaro

PIPER LINE

March 2011

Attitude is Everything!!

SWIMMING & DIVING NEWS

COACHES NOTES
FRANK VACCARO - Head Coach
One day a boy walks onto the pool deck for practice and his coach looks at him and says Lets get in and go. The boy puts his goggles on, swings his arms, and jumps into the water. He bounces off the bottom, pops up and starts swimming without missing a beat. This is not his first practice, but it isnt his last either. As he swims his workout, he often day dreams about being someplace other than in the pool. He thinks maybe I should have played basketball, but he knows this is the place for him. This always gets him to work harder. To strive for more and become the best his coach has ever had in the water. After he finishes his work out, he hops out of the water and coach tells him Great work out today! He smiles, sighs and nods dragging himself to the shower. They both know it will be the difference maker if he can keep it up through high school and college. As he gets done showering and changing he takes out his pocket knife and makes another notch on his locker. Many years later, when he is a senior in high school and making plans for college, this boy is not sure if he wants to swim anymore. At the last practice of the year, he is full of memories of swimming and having fun with team mates, coaches and parents. It is a light practice, mostly starts and turns and some sprints. It gives him time to reflect on his time in this pool. As he finishes practice he returns to his locker and sees the notches he has been making over the years. He knows he is not done. Swimming is part of him and he is part of the water. From the coachs view, I am proud of the great season for the men and women of Hamline Swimming and Diving. We had some great leaders who stepped up and took over the commands of the team. We trained hard all year and worked through some injuries and we had some time to reflect during our T1000s, broken swim sets and our 100 x 100s. We love being part of a team and the competition. We know we are not done. Swimming is part of us and we are part water. We will return and we will drop more time and rip more dives. We have a lot of work to do for next season and every year after we are going to want more. We will never be done with swimming.

2010-2011

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
Overview: The team was very young this year having graduated 7 seniors last season and losing some athletes to either injury or study abroad programs. However, we were all able to connect with each other and created some very strong bonds due to our closeness and smaller numbers. MIACs this year was especially surprising our mens team was only a few points away from getting 6th place with only FOUR swimmers. Considering our numbers, thats a pretty impressive accomplishment. The swimmers also showed drastic improvements from their pre-season times, including high school taper times. There was one athlete that was able to drop almost a minute in his 1650, getting his best 500 freestyle time in the process. This shows great promise for next year: along with the incoming freshmen and various returners we should see even more improvments and higher quality swimming as the season progresses. Training Trip This year the HU swimmers spent training trip in snowy Duluth, MN! Training at the Superior Senior High School they woke up early every morning and enjoyed the welcoming frosty air before heading over to the high school for practice. After swimming hard for 2 hours, they headed back to the hotel where they were able to eat and experience Duluths waterwark resort until it was time to leave for evening practices. While they were only able to be in Duluth for four days they definitely expereinced some intense training which contributed greatly to their MIAC drops. The last night of training trip they were able have dinner at alum Judy Seliga-Punykos (80) home, enjoying some great food and connecting with one of Hamlines former swimmers and her family. Overall, it was a successful training trip! Next year we are planning on flying south to Florida, California or Arizona. For our 2009-2010 season we were able to rent a couple beach houses in California and train in Thousand Oaks. Alumni Meet This years alumni meet was highly successful! We had over 20 former swimmers show up and compete in our two-hour event. While many would think a couple years out of season
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would really set back anyones swimming performance, our alums definitely proved that theory wrong! Swimming faster, swimming smarter though flipping your turn in the middle of the pool instead of completing a full 50 of backstroke probably wouldnt fly in the MIAC these days. We also had a recruit overnight scheduled for that evening with three potential first years showing up. They were able to experience our team atmosphere as well as mingle with our alums. It proved to be a very successful and fun-filled evening. Hopefully more of you will be able to attend next years Alumni Meet to make it even bigger and better!

Upcoming Events!
Team Banquet Saturday, April 2nd RELAY for LIFE! Saturday, April 16th
Celebrate more birthdays and cancer awareness by joining a team or donating to Hamline Universitys 2nd annual Relay for Life! (More information at www.relayforlife.org/hamline )

ALUMNI CONNECTION
My experiences as a student athlete are probably no different than anyone elses: I had to balance school and practice, got my ass kicked every day, and fell asleep during dinner after practice every night. Besides the extreme exhaustion and academic stresses, HU swimming was one of the most amazing and beneficial commitments I have ever made. Not only was I able to pursue my swimming career to new heights, I was also able to meet some of the best friends I have ever had. This last year I made the decision to remain part of my team by acting as an assistant coach to help Frank with recruiting and practices. While it was difficult bouncing between three different jobs, Im very happy with my choice to remain a part of Hamlines community and feel that I was able to be an asset to the team. I plan to return for next years season, but until then I want to remain on deck, so to speak, to help with recruiting and maintaining a close relationship with the swimmers.
Renee Punyko 10

Team Cookout/Graduation Party Saturday, June 25th

To celebrate the beginning of summer and welcoming our new swimmers for the 2011-2012 team.

Team Day at Valleyfair Monday, July 25th Team Day at the State Fair Thursday, Aug. 25th
Spending a great day at the Minnesota State Fair! - Everyone should be receiving notification about volunteering at the Hamline booth in the education building. This is a grea opportunity to meet alums and future Hamline students!

Classes Begin Wednesday, September 7th Twin Cities Marathon Sunday, October 2nd
Volunteering with the clean-up crew after the marathon

Practice Begins - Monday, October 3rd

Expect more Events to come in the next news letter!

Utilizing Alums: Hamline swimming and diving has a long tradition of success both academicly and Athletically. We want to continue to follow that tradition and add even more achievements to our already extensive resume. One way you as an alum can help is by keeping piper pride alive and well If you coach a team, have kids on a team or even just know someone interested in pursuing their swimming career please let them know about Hamline and Division III swimming & diving. Not only does it make our program stronger, it helps swimmers know they have more options than just Division I and Division II. Thank you for your continued support and GO PIPERS! Some things to look forward to: This past year, Hamlines aquatics program has decided to offer a triathlon training club for those that might be interested in improving the swimming portion of their races. Starting March 28th, we hope to have that program up and running. Participants can look forward to being coached on swimming technique and having fellow triathetes to train with! We are also looking at offering swim lessons to children ages 5-15 with several 2-week sessions. Times may coincide with our triathlon club for your convenience. Also, there will be four swim clinics available this summer for athletes in junior high and high school. These are offered to improve stroke technique and training goals before high school season begins. July 9th Sprint clinic July 23rd Stroke/IM August 6th Distance August 13th Starts & Turns Our goal is to have our participants show significant improvement in their race techniques and be ready to compete both seriously and effectively. More information coming soon!

LOOK FOR MORE

In the months ahead we look to extend the alumni and parents more information about the programs. To do this, we need the help and support from all involved with Hamline University Aquatic Programs. I spend many hours coaching these great teams, and we want the results to be shared with all that have been and are now involved in swimming and diving. This is pride, and we want to share it with those who mean the most! We will send out three newsletters a year, updating you on the teams recent results along with what the future holds. Our ultimate goal is to keep you informed and to get you involved! Until next time!

Frank Vaccaro Head Coach

For more info about Hamline Swimming & Diving Contact: Frank Vaccaro Head Coach Hamline University 1536 Hewitt Ave St. Paul, MN 55104

651-523-2276
fvaccaro01@hamline.edu

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