Preparing For the Big One

A native of Poland, Krystyna Wieczerzak is a junior on the Wright State Swimming & Diving team, and a Swimming & Diving correspondent for the HLN Blog.

There are only a few days left until the Horizon League Swimming & Diving Championships. This is the most important time during the whole season, but also the most stressful. Even though we have already done the hardest work; these couple of days right before the big event are the most significant. Things like staying healthy, resting, proper eating or just making sure that we get enough sleep, are becoming crucial. Many of my non-swimmer friends think that it is crazy... almost insane. However, we just want to make sure that by the time we stand behind the blocks we are ready to compete. While these last few days are stressful for us, it is clearly evident that the coaches are under the same or even greater pressure. It is their responsibility to come up with the best possible lineup, as well as making sure that our practices are effective for each individual swimmer. Although there is great excitement that comes each year with this event, after the last race there is also a sense of sadness. It comes from the fact that the season is over, and it closes another chapter of our swimming careers.

Looking back to the beginning of the season I can see some changes in our team. Some were good, some were not, but they got us where we are today:

• First of all I would like to mention that many of our team members are holding a GPA over 3.0. The following swimmers were recognized last Sunday during an academic recognition ceremony: Tyler Barchek, Scott Bey, T.J Collins, Nathan Demchuk, Pawel Grzebala, Danny Munoz, Caleb Netteleton, Ethan Radalia, Stevi DiMasso, Ali Hohman, Hannah Jones, Marta Kokot, Mamie Lash, Taylor Merryfield, Kelli Reynolds, Samantha Ritzler, Ana Rubin, Carly Stepp, Erin Stevning, Makenzie Weldon, Melissa Woody, Rasa Zilinskaite, Neena Zwier... and me! Congratulations everyone!
  
  
• Another great achievement was that the Women's Swimming and Diving team had the 12th highest GPA in NCAA Division I. We placed higher than universities such as Yale, Duke, Brown, Cornell and Vanderbilt. Good job ladies!
  
  
• I am also glad to say that our team has recently become more like a family, which we can rely on during hard times. We are supporting each other not only during practice, meets, or school, but also in everyday life. It is really important to have a friend who you can talk to, especially when your family is too far away to visit over the weekend.
  
  
• Many people started hanging out in the training room. I know that our trainer, Becky Bower, is an amazing person. However, we should try to take better care of ourselves and try to minimize the number of visits to Becky so we could be more efficient during the practice. But, the Men's Swimming & Diving team always made sure to turn up their music loud enough in the locker room so Becky could hear it in her training room. I know she greatly appreciates this everyday.
  
  
• After this really long and hard season, the distance swimmers have finally perfected the art of driving our assistant coach, Janelle Atkinson, absolutely crazy. We also managed to learn how to correctly make her sets, so we do not have to repeat them an infinite number of times.
  
  
• Last but not least: drama and whining. I know that we got much better about this since the beginning of the year, but I believe that we could do better. We still complain a little too much. Complying is like a virus, which spreads amazingly fast. I think we should all look at Hannah Jones as an example and just take everything with the smile. Not only the swimming sets, but everything what comes in life.

The League meet is in few days, so there is not much more to do aside from staying focused and positive. It is going to be a tough meet, but also a great fun. We've been waiting for this all season!

Good luck to everyone!