Clinics and Goals - Always a Full Plate!

Practices are going great as we're getting ready for Duke Zielinski and the Josephson Twins to visit and whip the girls into shape with a 2 day clinic! We've been having lots of fun creating new lifts and throws...as always some work great
and others...lets just say "we'll work on it". We've finally set some new team goals and are looking forward to that "Wow look at Wheaton" reaction.
On the recruiting side of things we are currently up to 5 Early Decision athletes. How exciting! Our most recent application came from our swimmer in Mexico. Till admissions makes their decision we'll all hold our breath (synchro swimmers do this so well) till you all get in.
If you are a current recruit and are still interested in coming out for a visit, no worries we can still squeeze ya in. Just give me a ring and let me know what days work best for you. Hope to hear from you all soon!
- Coach

The Wheaton Synchro Season Begins...

And their off! The girls hit the water swimming this season and I have to say after our first two weeks of practice, I'm impressed. This has to be one of the most motivated group of girls I've ever had the chance to work with. We've nailed down our first lap of team and I can already tell it's going to be amazing. Small routines are also underway with some proving to be a little more challenging to choreograph then others...but we'll get there.

We had our first team dinner hosted by the Swinkins last Sunday where we had inspirational talks and were given great motivational tokens. Each swimmer was given a value (IE. trust, inspire, perseverance) and was told that their job for the year was to bring that value to the team.

The girls are still going to the weight room with our strength trainer 2x a week and are looking to add a third day next week. During their time with the strength trainer they use weights, go on Indian runs, and even participate in Pilates every Friday.

On anther note we have our first 3 early decision applications in hand and are eagerly awaiting more. Remember, your chances at acceptance are better when you apply early decision...so if you know Wheaton's the right place for you, go for it!

That's it for now! Remember to let me know if you have any questions or need some help with the application process. Hope your seasons are off to a great start and hope to hear from you soon!

- Coach

Wheaton Synchro Pre-season 08

Hi All!
So classes are underway and preseason has started. It's great to see the returning swimmers back in the water and the new ones for the first time. They've been enjoying their first few weeks together by learning their tryout routine, attending weight room sessions and stretching like crazy. They've even made preseason fun by going on scavenger hunts, team dinners, and even movie nights.
As for me, I'm getting ready for convention and working hard to find just the right recruits for the team. I'm starting to set up visit dates for current recruits and hoping to track down a few more whom have the Wheaton "IT" factor. If you think this is something you have, a true passion for synchro, you could be just what Wheaton's looking for. Feel free to contact me and let me know you're interested in coming for an overnight visit with the team.
I'm hoping to have the Wheaton captain's post some photos from the scavenger hunt...so stay tuned for a laugh. Till then work hard and best of luck!

How we discovered Rebecca Story was right for Lyons Synchro

Even though it has been a year since Rebecca joined Wheaton as our new Head Coach, we can still remember the first time we met her. Two freshmen, confidently sitting at the end of the table facing the candidate, ready to fire away carefully prepared questions. We were familiar with this scenario because we had already met with other potential applicants. She was the last victim…I mean, interviewee, on the list.

But sitting across from us was not just any other candidate; it was Rebecca Story from Keuka College. Our expectations seemed to be high for this particular applicant because she had previously swam and coached for our rival team at Keuka. We had plans for the team, goals for what we wanted to accomplish, and we were seeking a person whose visions were going to compliment our own. Our questions were not what one would call “easy to answer”, we were aware that we would have a small team and a broad range of ability. To our surprise, she answered each question flawlessly. It was as if she could read our minds. Everything we had discussed about what we wanted to do for our team, was mentioned in her answers. She had ideas for water-shows, new training techniques, fundraising, and new recruiting tools. Rebecca also had a solid plan for the season and stressed the importance of academics while still being committed to the team. As the interview progressed, we became more excited with every subsequent response. All we could do was pinch each other under the table as she continued to impress us with her answers. Upon meeting with Rebecca it became quite obvious to us that she was well prepared, had already given a great deal of thought to the job she was applying for, and articulated what she was planning to bring to the team. She was our answer, and she embraced what we wanted Wheaton Synchro to become.

We had an amazing season. We accomplished every goal we set and developed higher standards and expectations for the upcoming season.

-Laura and Jenna S.
Wheaton Synchro Co-Captains

Wheaton Synchro Swimmers really are STUDENT-athletes

So I just got back from a family BBQ and couldn't stop bragging about how well the team did academically.  I ended up having more then half the team make the Deans List with a semester average GPA of 3.32.  Our Deans List recipients are Megan Kinney '08, Jenna Swinkin '10, Laura Montes '10, and Sarah Bertrand '11. The teams highest GPA went to Jenna with an amazing 3.75.  Megan followed with a 3.67 while Laura and Sarah pulled a 3.66. Congrats ladies on a job well done!  Let's keep up the hard work and never stop aiming for those 4.0's.

Greetings from a Wheaton Graduate!

Hi there! My name is Megan and I just graduated from Wheaton! Yeah class of 2008! It's so hard for me to believe that four years flew by so quickly. Anyway, I just thought that I would talk a little bit about my Wheaton experiences and my four years as a Lyon!

Your first question is likely "Where are you from?" I have moved all over the country, and my claim-to-fame is that I have swam in three different zones (East, South, and West)...I have trouble answering that question!!! I went to high school in California and Florida is home again now! I will miss the New England seasons, and while I like the warm weather, I am so glad that I had the opportunity to live in and to experience another region of the country!

People often ask me why I choose Wheaton in the first place. Wheaton was the perfect choice for me because it's a great combination of challenging academics and a great community atmosphere! I love that I was able to swim on a very competitive varsity team, while still able to participate in other aspects of campus life! I had been swimming synchro since the age of 7, so when I came to Wheaton, synchro was still a big part of my life, but it wasn't my whole life. The team was an additional support which helped to ease my transition to campus life.

I was captain of the team and a resident advisor since Sophmore year and was an admissions tour guide and intern my last two years as well. I definately enjoyed being busy! Prospective students also ask me about the time committment of being on the team. We usually started team practices in early October and finished our season the end of March or into April. We practiced Monday through Friday, with the weekends off! I found that my time mannagemnt was always better during the season because I had other committments and had to get my work done in a timely fashion!

As an International Relations major and Economics and Latin American Studies minors, I was able to spend the past two summers abroad, in Chile to study at a local university and Costa Rica to volunteer at a community center and live with a local family. I was a Community scholar, so in addition to the scholarship I recieved, I got a stipend which helped to cover my expenses in Costa Rica!

This year was Rebecca's first as our coach, and she did an amazing job of making the transition! She challenged us daily and it paid off at all of our meets! One of my favorite things was the energy and positive attitude that she brought to practice every morning...it never ceased to amaze me! I am so excited to see what is in store for the team in the future!

Another question I have gotten a lot recently is "what are you doing now?" I will be starting a Masters program in International Business at the University of Florida in a few weeks! I also plan to help coach the local age group team in Gainesville so that I can stay involved in synchro. I doubt that I will have much free time during the program, but I definately want to swim masters synchro in the future!

I hope that I haven't confused you all terribly with my rambling! Please let me know if you have any additional questions. Rebecca knows how to find me! I encourage you all to learn as much about Wheaton as possible, as it is such a unique and incredible place! Best of luck with your search! Go Lyons!

Class of 2013 Recruits: To do List

When you're trying to find the perfect college there's a lot of homework (yes, I said homework). I'll be posting lists like this one to help you stay on target.

3 Things you should to be doing now:

• Create a list of schools you think you may like to attend
• Research these schools and make sure they offer your interests
• Write down deadlines for applications

Remember:

NCAA rules state that Collegiate coaches cannot contact you until after July 1st. It's still a good idea to send an e-mail or fill out any information online. Keep in mind that unless you let a coach know you're interested they won't know you're there.

2007-2008 Season Recap

Hey! This is the first ever Wheaton College Synchro blog. I'm hoping this will prove to be a great resource for all swimmers while looking to choose the right synchro college. I've just completed my first full season as head coach here at Wheaton and I have to say it was WONDERFUL! The girls were great and the school supportive. We met all our goals for the season and have already begun to set new ones for the next. You can read the results on our website. Recruiting for this year went very well. It looks like we're going from a team of 7 girls to 12...pretty exciting! My hopes are to have two teams comprised of one 8-woman team and another with 4. I must say I like the sound of an 8 woman team. Right now I'm waiting to watch my first Senior graduate and keeping my fingers crossed the rest of the team does well on their finals. I'll be updating the blog as often as possible so you can know the latest on our end. If you find yourself wanting to know more about Wheaton or the synchro team feel free to check out our website at http://www.wheatoncollege.edu/. Hugs till next time!