Flagstaff High School Swimming

Getting away from NAU swimming for a second, the only high school in Flagstaff with a swimming team is in trouble. Flagstaff High School has produced numerous individual state champions and even taken the 4A-II Men’s team title! This is a program that is rich with tradition.

Today I am sitting here writing this blog with the knowledge that their pool facility is once again having problems. This is an older facility; it is 25 yards long with 6 lanes. The ventilation system is shaky at best. The deck is cracked, the pool walls are cracked and the blocks look like they were built with tinker toys. When you walk into the building you just smell old pool.

Over the years the team has survived by the city and the school district taking care of the pool. Well the city has pulled out and the school district was faced with a decision to make. Do they keep their winning program, or cut it to save money. Well, they made the right choice this year. They have kept the program, but the pool has continued to see problems.

Today is their last home meet of the season. At 3pm the Eagles will be swimming and diving their way into the regional and state meets, unsure of where the meet will be held. That’s right; their last home meet might not even be in their own pool. At this time (12:45pm) NAU has been contacted to take over and host the final “home meet” for the Flag High Eagles. We are waiting to see if their pool will be fixed or if we will be hosting the meet.

NAU is more then equipped to handle the teams and run the meet, but what does it say about the City of Flagstaff that they cannot keep their only High School Swimming team’s pool working? I know that they pulled out, and I am sure they have their reasons, but swimming is an important part of this community. The high school not only plays host to the Eagles team, but also the local swimming program, Flagstaff Snow Sharks. This team has been around for over 30 years, their home has been the high school pool. It is hard for me to write about this, because I am the head coach for the other team in town, Flagstaff Peaks Aquatic Club, and we train out of NAU.

The Snow Sharks are hurting. Their pool is a mess, and we (Flagstaff Peaks) have absorbed a lot of their unhappy swimmers. This is great for us, but not great for the city and swimming.

I am just a messenger that loves the sport. I have been around swimming since the day I was born. And for the past 25 years it has only given me joy and happiness, plus a few records and championships along the way as well. Please help ensure that another generation can have the same joy that we have.

Thank you,

Dave Rollins

Assistant Swimming Coach Northern Arizona University

Head Coach Flagstaff Peaks Aquatic Club

NAU Swimming and Diving Junior Class

I feel like a part of this class. Entering my third year as Assistant Coach, it is only natural that the junior class and I have shared some of the same experiences. Missing practice cause an alarm did not go off, getting lost on campus and of course who could forget rooming with Andy at my first away trip and not setting the alarm so we BOTH get up late. Not the best first impression I’d say.

We have come a long way since those days, and now without further ado here are your 2009-2010 NAU Swimming and Diving juniors.

Lana Christensen aka Analytical – This girl come from a sleepy cow town known as Casper, Wyoming. A place where her mom made (and still does make) her swim suits. A place where being cool means you own a horse. Lana came in literally fresh off the farm. With the growth she has experienced over the past two years from non-scorer to an All-WAC finisher. This year poses to be the best yet for Lana on all three boards.

Megan Collier aka Little Mc – Another one of our far travelers from down in the valley, Megan came to NAU with one thing on her mind…no not boys, ok well maybe two things on her mind then, the other being winning. With the height that would scare the most elite divers (a massive 5’1”) she can tuck into such a small ball that when she spins you can barely see her. Add to that her ability to jump through the roof; this girl is going to dominate the boards this year.

Meredith Egloria aka Aloha – Mer is one half of our Jun-more class. She is more then a junior but not quite a senior. Coming to the mountains from the island of Hawaii, Mer is a backstroke and sprint free specialist. Her kick and underwater work can challenge the best in the country and her ability to come back from asthma attack after asthma attack only proves her willingness to improve. A school record holder in the 200 Free Relay and a top 8 finisher at the WAC Championships, Mer is looking to make her mark individually as well as help the relays.

Claire Ferro aka Claire Ferro – The other half of our Jun-more class, Claire came to NAU from Goodyear, Ariz. If you do not know where Goodyear is, it is a fancy term for west Phoenix. Claire is one of the most versatile freestyle swimmers on the team. Placing 9^th in both the 50 free as well as the 500 free last year. Claire was also a member of our school record setting 400 Free Relay and 800 Free Relay. Not to be outdone with her ability to succeed on her stomach, she can turn it over and swim a stellar 200 backstroke when called upon as well, placing in the top 8 at the 2008 WAC Championships in the 200 back. Claire comes into this third year with a passion to beat anyone who stands up next to her, do not let her bubbly attitude and smile fool you. This is a cold hearted racer that refuses to lose.

Taryn Harris aka Bubble Wrap – A special nickname for a special girl. Taryn sometimes gets hurt. Ok, sometimes is a nice way of saying it. If we could get her to live in a bubble and only come out to dive we could. However, her ability to compete when not at 100% and her results only show that when she is healthy this girl is going to rip. Taryn almost qualified for the NCAA Championships last year with 1 foot. That’s right, her other foot required surgery, but Taryn put it off until after the Zone meet. She was jumping as high as anyone else with half the tools. This year promises to be a great year for her as she is getting back into the water at full strength. Also, I am building that bubble.

Ashley Kurtz aka Kurtz – Ashley is a sprint free and backstroke specialist out of Phoenix, Ariz. Kurtz can usually be found talking during sets and before as well as after practice. To put it simply, she likes to talk. However, even though she is a talker, this girl’s work ethic is not equaled by many. She keeps a positive attitude while working hard and improving every year. That is the kind of person that makes others around them better. This year she is on the same path. I would only expect best times for Kurtz at the end of the season.

Vivian Landeck aka Lil’ Viv – The soft-spoken debutant from Sugarland, Texas. Vivian is a distance machine. Even though coming into her freshman year I do not think she ever swam a mile in her life, she embraced it and not only dramatically improved, but it helped her 200 free come within a few hundredths of a second of a school record. Not too shabby if you ask me. A member of the schools 800 Free Relay school record team she had the teams fastest split at a 1:49.8. This year she is looking to translate that relay swim into an individual school record and maybe even a WAC Championship.

Kate Schafer aka Kate – Not knowing a nickname is not the end of the world. This girl came into her second year with a chip on her shoulder. Having been a non-scorer her freshman year, she was on a mission from day one. And that mission paid off and then some. Swimming as a member of the school record 800 Free Relay, then placing in the top 8 of the 500 Free it was only a matter of time before she had that massive break through swim. On the last night of finals, she did. In the mile Kate took it out fast and refused to back down. Finishing with a 3^rd place and one of the top times in NAU School history, Kate had had her breakthrough. This year will be no different. In fact, it will be better.

Monica Veit aka Veet – Monica and I got off to a rough start. She hated swimming 200 breaststrokes in practice (in fact she had never swam one in her life!) and I made her do them anyway. Needless to say, she kind of hated me. At the end of her freshman year it paid off with massive time drops in her 100 and 200 breaststrokes. Last year was a little easier for her. She knew what was coming and knew that it worked. Along came the same result; more fast swims. It is a system that works. Once again this season she will be more accepting of her inevitable fate, and once again we will see some great swims from this lady.

Dave Rollins, Assistant Swimming Coach Northern Arizona University

My Big Greek Trip By Mike Adras

Northern Arizona men’s basketball coach Mike Adras participated in the first International Basketball Coaches Clinic hosted by ACS (American Community Schools) Athens in Halandri Athens, Greece Oct. 2-3. Adras joined former NAU women’s assistant and current UC-Riverside Head Coach John Margaritis and Cheryl Burnett (former Head coach of Southwest Missouri State and Michigan) as the guest speakers at the International Basketball Coaches Clinic at ACS Athens. Guest speakers representing Greece, included Kostas Missas, the head coach of the Greek National Women’s team and the National Junior Men’s team.

We arrived Wednesday morning after leaving Phoenix at 7 a.m. Tuesday. It took us over a day to get there. We decided that we were going to try to stay with the time zone we were in. We went at it the first day even though we were exhausted.

We immediately went to the Olympic Stadium from the first modern Olympic Games. Then we went over to Parliament. They have similar to in London the changing of the guard where they stay motionless. It was cool. From there, we went to the old downtown area called the Plaka. We had our first Greek meal and sat at an outdoor café and watched the people go by. People were trying to sell us stuff and I almost bought a copy of the movie “The Hangover”. It was huge plaza of fun and people.

From there we walked from the Acropolis to the Parthenon. There is a hill right outside there where St. Paul converted the Greeks. It helped having Coach John Margaritis there. He was born there and was the one explaining everything. He was very good on the Greek history.

We spent an hour walking around the Parthenon and the museum built right next to it. As soon as we sat down at the video, the time change caught up to me and I dozed off and missed most of the video. I just wanted to go back to the hotel but we went to this fabulous outdoor restaurant. We did more that first day than I ever would have imagined.

The next day John decided we needed to swim in the Mediterranean. We took a cab ride 45 minutes away and there I am swimming in the Mediterranean. My assistants arranged to meet some basketball people as contacts for future recruits. I spent the afternoon with them. We then went to dinner at a neighborhood restaurant. A tourist would never find his way to this restaurant. I ate things I never even knew what I was eating half the time. There were a lot of olives, a lot of feta cheese and tomatoes. The cuisine was amazing.

Friday was the first day of the clinic. I did my first clinic at 2 p.m. and second at 6 p.m. John did his clinic in Greek so I was not going to understand his clinic so I went with a couple of people and saw a professional basketball game in the Olympic Arena with two teams playing for the right to go to the Euro Championship. I saw one of Jamie Dixon’s players Lavon Kendall was playing that night. His team won. It was very encouraging for me regarding our guys to look at potential opportunities to play over there. We ended the night at women’s professional basketball game.

Saturday was another clinic day. I went out with one of the coaches to dinner. When I came back to the hotel, I was headed to my room when I heard a lot of music coming from behind the elevator. I found two Greek wedding receptions going on. I went into both and took photos of them doing that Greek circle dance. It was fun to watch. I think it was indicative of the culture. I felt so welcome. They were so willing to share their culture.

The only thing I had a hard time with was the cabs and the cab drivers. They seemed to have the right of way. Pedestrians have no right of way in Greece. You better get out of the way. The roads are narrow and it just seems to be a go-cart race on every street. I only saw one accident the entire time I was there. But I felt like we were going to get into an accident every time. My back needs some physical therapy from the start-stop jolt of the various taxi cab drivers.

After that I tried to gather myself for the journey home. It took me about 27 hours to get back. I left at 8 p.m. Flagstaff time Sunday night which was 6 a.m. Athens time the next morning. We went to Paris and then took a 12-hour flight to Salt Lake City. I highly recommend business or first class. I was sitting with my knees in my throat.

The trip was well worth the experience. The clinics were fabulous. They put a lot of thought into the clinic. I think they were very happy with the turnout with coaches from all over Greece. Watching the Greek coaches putting on the clinics it helped me understand the European game more. It was good to hear different ways of doing things. It was a great way to exchange ideas, concepts and philosophies.

It was a little over a 100 years since my grandfather immigrated to the United States. It meant a lot to me that I was able to bring the “family” back to Greece. It was a fabulous experience.