Preseason starts for swim team.
The University of Indianapolis swimming team is preparing for its upcoming season, with more than a dozen freshmen on the team this year.
Head Swimming Coach Gary Kinkead said that he has helped swimmers prepare during the off-season. According to Kinkead, the season already has started, as swimmers began practice the day after Labor Day. However, the team includes students from all around the world, so Kinkead said that it is difficult to remain in constant contact with the swimmers when they are not on campus.
“During the off-season, a lot of the time they are at home. So I try to make sure that we communicate at least once every couple of weeks so I know what they’re doing,” Kinkead said. “There is encouragement through the summer, but it is not as hands on as it is during the year.”
Kinkead also said that the swimmers typically have a club in their hometowns where they train during the off-season. Kinkead sends a practice schedule to those who are not involved in a club so that they maintain their skills while they are not at school.
Sophomore Bruno Barbosa is from Brazil and said that he continues practicing at home just as he does at school.
“I go back to Brazil, and I try to stay in shape during the off-season by doing a lot of swimming and lifting weights,” he said.
Senior Shiran Abrahamson said that an important aspect of swimming is forming good relationships with teammates. This, according to Abrahamson, helps her stay motivated and accomplish her goals.
“This year my goals are to be more efficient in the water and to get more speed and improve in shorter distances,” she said.
After 19 years of coaching, Kinkead said he still has the same goals for his team.
“My goal after 19 years is still to win a conference championship and to win a national championship,” Kinkead said.
While he enjoys the vast diversity on the team, Kinkead said that it could present some challenges.
“Melding the team together as one unit can be difficult because there is a lot of diversity in the group,” Kinkead said. “I am trying to get them [members of the team] to understand what our team values are.”
Last year, Barbosa earned seventh place at the national conference and is striving to be in the top five this year.
One of the meets that the team is looking forward to is the Calvin Winter Invitational from Nov. 29 to Dec. 1. Kinkead said that he has high hopes for his team at the meet and that there are many hard workers who set an example for the rest of the team.
“When you have a few people working hard, it brings other people to work hard,” he said.
Abrahamson said that balancing the time between sports and academics is important.
“I find that I sleep more and do less homework during the off-season. So it’s easier to stay focused during the season,” she said.
Both Barbosa and Abrahamson would like to see more support around campus for swimming and diving this season.
“People forget about swimming, but I would love to see people come watch our meets,” Barbosa said.
Abrahamson said that the team is making strides to promote swimming by hosting a “pink meet” and making people aware of breast cancer.
Abrahamson has been swimming for 17 years and said she would like to end her athletic and academic careers on a positive note.
“I want to break my swimming records, and academically I want to maintain my 3.5 GPA,” Abrahamson said. “Basically, I want to have good memories from swimming.”
The swimming team’s first home meet of the season will be Oct. 13 against Asbury, Ky., at the Ruth Lilly Center.
