Swimmers excited following tough break
Geoff Bruce
Issue date: 1/27/10 Section: Sports
Winter break is a sort of tunnel for competitive swimmers. Whether the swimmers are age group athletes, club swimmers, high school swimmers, or collegiate competitors, winter break is always a rough stretch. School work gets put aside, but an athlete's overall workload seems to stay the same.
For swimmers, winter break is dominated by their sport; controlled by their commitment. While most students might enjoy sleeping in and spending entire days in pajamas, for swimmers, the "break" is hardly such. Ripon College's swim teams are no exception.
"I think that the past two weeks have been very productive. Coach Davis has challenged each and every one of us with the sets she gave us," said junior Megan Rice.
A month without classes might seem heavenly to most students, but for members of Head Coach Jennifer Davis' squads, it also means a month of extra difficult workouts. The Ripon swimmers were asked to return to school early for training after New Years.
A couple of weeks on campus without classes could be a lot of fun, but when you're a Red Hawk swimmer, that also means a couple of weeks of trekking to the pool in the harsh winter weather of central Wisconsin twice a day. Things could have only gotten tougher if a freak accident were to occur, forcing the swim teams away from their home pool and relegating them to the confines of the Ripon High School facility. That happened too.
"With any athlete, having to relocate and use someone else's facility is very frustrating," said Davis. "It was not fun, but those are the sacrifices you may have to go through."
The lone senior on the men's team, Muskego, Wis. native Bruce Kukowski, agreed with his coach's assessment of the unfortunate situation. "Swimming at the high school pool for the last three weeks has been quite an obstacle. However, a pool is a pool, and we worked with what we had."
Still, Davis' squad has emerged from the cavernous tunnel that is winter break with high hopes of a successful conclusion to the 2009-10 season. Having now established a solid training base, the Red Hawks will soon begin to taper, a process designed to reduce workout sessions and training intensity in the days or weeks leading up to a specific competition in order to produce optimal results.
For swimmers, winter break is dominated by their sport; controlled by their commitment. While most students might enjoy sleeping in and spending entire days in pajamas, for swimmers, the "break" is hardly such. Ripon College's swim teams are no exception.
"I think that the past two weeks have been very productive. Coach Davis has challenged each and every one of us with the sets she gave us," said junior Megan Rice.
A month without classes might seem heavenly to most students, but for members of Head Coach Jennifer Davis' squads, it also means a month of extra difficult workouts. The Ripon swimmers were asked to return to school early for training after New Years.
A couple of weeks on campus without classes could be a lot of fun, but when you're a Red Hawk swimmer, that also means a couple of weeks of trekking to the pool in the harsh winter weather of central Wisconsin twice a day. Things could have only gotten tougher if a freak accident were to occur, forcing the swim teams away from their home pool and relegating them to the confines of the Ripon High School facility. That happened too.
"With any athlete, having to relocate and use someone else's facility is very frustrating," said Davis. "It was not fun, but those are the sacrifices you may have to go through."
The lone senior on the men's team, Muskego, Wis. native Bruce Kukowski, agreed with his coach's assessment of the unfortunate situation. "Swimming at the high school pool for the last three weeks has been quite an obstacle. However, a pool is a pool, and we worked with what we had."
Still, Davis' squad has emerged from the cavernous tunnel that is winter break with high hopes of a successful conclusion to the 2009-10 season. Having now established a solid training base, the Red Hawks will soon begin to taper, a process designed to reduce workout sessions and training intensity in the days or weeks leading up to a specific competition in order to produce optimal results.
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