Swimming & Diving Coach Andy Johns Performs at Carnegie Hall

NEW YORK - NAU swimming & diving head coach Andy Johns got a chance to perform last week at the legendary Carnegie Hall in Midtown Manhattan. Johns is a member of the Master Chorale of Flagstaff, which performed along with NAU's Shrine of the Ages Choir on the stage of the one of the most prestigious musical venues in the world. Johns chronicles his visit to New York for the Lumberjack Talk Blog:

We departed for New York, all 166 of us from Flagstaff, on Thursday morning March 8^th.  Members of the Master Chorale of Flagstaff, NAU’s Shrine of the Ages Choir, alumni from both choirs, and friends and family of everyone.  Upon arrival, we were bused to the Park Central Hotel on 7^th Avenue, between 55^th and 56^th streets, a great location, as it is across the street from Carnegie Hall and only a few blocks from Central Park, Times Square, Broadway, 5^th Avenue – you name it!  Friday morning included a four-hour rehearsal for the combined choirs that were gathered for the first time to perform at Carnegie Hall.  After dinner at the Carnegie Deli that included a pastrami sandwich stacked so high we made it into four sandwiches, we were off to the theatre district for the Disney classic “Mary Poppins”.  My daughter and I were not disappointed.  The staging, the sets, the costuming and singing and dancing were all fabulous.  The New Amsterdam theatre on 42^nd St was quaint and filled to capacity.  After the show, we wandered through Times Square and stopped at yet another great café to enjoy a slice of New York cheesecake.  Not a bad start to the trip, for sure.

Saturday morning started with a walk through Central Park and meeting Coach Luciano and his wife, Lori, at the Time Warner Center.  I had another rehearsal, while my daughter was shown around Greenwich Village, Soho, Little Italy, and Chinatown, by two of the best tour guides NYC has to offer (Coach Luciano and Lori).  Saturday night was capped off after dinner with cupcakes from the Magnolia Bakery – yes, that magnolia bakery from “Sex in the City” fame.  Sunday morning we headed south on the subway and went to the 9/11 memorial and ground zero.  A very somber setting, but an important part of the trip to NY to pay respects.  Sunday afternoon included more rehearsal and more shopping on 5^th Avenue. 

And finally the hour arrived for our first peak inside Carnegie Hall.  We were escorted in the side stage doors and to a rehearsal room on the 3^rd floor and arranged in our rows.  The sound check was scheduled from 7:10 – 7:40, and that was our first rehearsal on the stage with the New York City Chamber Orchestra.  Walking on to the stage and into an empty hall for my first glimpse of Carnegie was enough to begin to understand the specialness of this place - The cream colored walls and red seats.  The balconies that extend to the ceiling.  The intricate details of workmanship.  The perfect acoustics.

At 8:00, I was able to meet my daughter and the Luciano’s in the hall as we got ready for the downbeat at 8:30. Northern Arizona University’s Shrine of the Ages Choir started the evening with an incredible set of acapella singing that really stole the show.  These collegiate singers are vocal performance majors and some will undoubtedly end up singing again at Carnegie or on Broadway or perhaps even with the Metropolitan Opera.  It was an honor to sing with them during all of the rehearsal hours and especially on stage.  After intermission we gathered again in the rehearsal room and then made our way on the stage to sing John Rutter’s “Magnificat”.  The house was full and singing to a full house anywhere is great, but a full house in Carnegie – “are you kidding me?”  - incredible!

Dr Edith Copley, the Director of Choral Studies at Northern Arizona University, told us right before going on to enjoy the moment, have fun and smile.  I did all three, especially the smiling part apparently, as my daughter and others told me afterward.  I couldn’t help it.  Beautiful music in an historic place.  This was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me and for the performance to coincide with my birthday and to share the moment with my daughter and great friends made it all the better.

My trip to New York concluded with a serendipitous free ticket to the taping of The Late Show with David Letterman.  Will Ferrell was the special guest.  Unbelievable! Awesome, Baby! – March Madness had begun 3 days early.  What a trip! 

NCAA Indoor Championships Blog: Diego Estrada

Junior distance runner Diego Estrada will compete Friday and Saturday in the NCAA Indoor Track and Field National Championships.  He'll be blogging his thoughts and experiences throughout the weekend.

Friday Night (Following his fifth-place finish in the 5,000 meters)

Frustrated to say the least! Fifth place would have been a great accomplishment a year ago, not this year. Last year I placed 4^th indoors and 5^th outdoors, so I would have been content with a top 3 finish but unfortunately that wasn't the case. What to do, what to do? MOVE ON! That was only half of the task; I still have another event coming up [Saturday]. Tired or not I better bring my A game because 12 months are a long time to wait for another opportunity. 

The race went out in a pedestrian pace for the opening laps.  I was in great position and covered many moves but failed to capitalize in the closing stages. The coaching was there, so was the health; nothing failed, I just didn't respond.  It's a hard pill to swallow as an athlete but with a few hours in between I have to stop thinking about the "could have, would have" and accept the fact that I dropped the ball. Champions have a short memory and I have to regroup and give it another go! I am still in it to win it! 

Go Jacks!

Diego

Thursday Night

I am 24 hours away from show time and unlike years before I feel more relaxed than ever. If anything I feel a bit sleepy, but I haven't lost any sleep over the competition.  It has been a fairly easy day here in Nampa, Idaho, just a lot of eating and sleeping. Around noon or so I headed to the track with Coach Heins to do my usual pre-race routine, just an easy 35 minute jog with Coach and did some quick strides to finish tuning up for tomorrow.

There isn't much of game plan for this weekend, no over-analyzing the competition or race strategies for once on my part. My main focus will be recovery and having a short term memory no matter the outcome of Friday night as that will only be half of the job.  Saturday the real test will come racing on tired legs against the best in the country. Four or five years ago I would be walking in as a heavy favorite for a national title in my respective events, but thankfully that is not the case and I will have my hands full if I am to win a national title. While winning is always good, it is more satisfying losing knowing you gave it your all than winning unchallenged. Still, the fact of the matter is I am running out eligibility. My clock is ticking and I have yet to match up with the likes of Lopez Lomong and David McNeill. while I have broken their records I have yet to put myself at their level. I have proven I can time trial, but I have yet to prove I can be tactically smart and patient to strike against the best in the NCAA. There really aren't any place or time goals but to prove I can be successful in tactical affairs and hunt down the best in the NCAA.

Well, its nap time here once more in Nampa, ID hope everyone is enjoying the fresh air of Flagstaff. I will try to report back on Saturday morning.

Thanks for reading, Diego

WAC Swimming & Diving Championship Blog Entry 2

NAU senior swimmer Kristin Jones and senior diver Holly Frost will be chronicling their final conference meet from the WAC Swimming & Diving Championships from San Antonio. The second entry comes from Frost:

Palo Alto Natatorium is a very distinctive place where magical moments happen.  Something about the water in that pool and the atmosphere, which surrounds all of us, that generates monumental racing and on point diving.  Yesterday, February 23 was the second day of the WAC Championships and boy was there some stellar racing and beautiful diving.  Beginning the day in our usual fashion we entered the pool for wake up swimming and a little diving to get our bodies moving and prepare for the day ahead.  Boy, was it a day.  Bang, NAU began prelims rest began to fall into place on the swimming and soon diving side.

Diving began with eight Lumberjacks ready to make a statement and let the rest of the building know we were here and ready to work.  With two seniors, myself included, this was the beginning of a culminating experience that we have been preparing and battling for this past 4 years. Diving competitions are kind of like a mystery game, you watch people compete, hear scores and then try and guess where people will place and who will earn the coveted top 8 places.  Sometimes it is a given who will be in the top but often it is a battle.  No matter what happens you keep fighting for everything you can and earn every possible point with pretty toes and clean lines. 

We were able to come together as a team and build one another up with positive energy, words, and constant dance party.  We all compete differently and need different things to make competition easier and to be successful.  Something that I have learned the past 4 years is having the ability to feed off teammates and learn from what they do makes you a better person and athlete.  We have been successful individually and as a team and a lot of that is because we support one another and want each other to do well.  Personally, it is more important for the team as a whole to do well than myself as an individual; we fight together and that is what makes us the team to beat and the team people want to be.  I am proud to be a Lumberjack and I am proud to be a diver part of this program.  So far, we have had multiple girls make both the consolations and finals on both 1M and 3M springboard.  Tomorrow is platform and another opportunity to come together as a team and compete to the best of our abilities. 

“I am a member of a team, and I rely on the team, I defer to it and sacrifice for it, because the team, not the individual is the ultimate champion.”

-Mia Hamm