SJU Johnnies Swim and Dive

Blog #14 

Hello Johnnie Swim and Dive Fans and Alumni! We have had a great start to the season so far! I just talked with another coach who reminded me we are currently 1/3 of the way to NCAAs this year already! Times flies when the season is going so well! A recap as to where we are so far, and a few thoughts on the season: 

We are currently 5-0 on the season so far, with convincing wins over St. Olaf, Macalester, University of Minnesota Morris, and Hamline. As it has been the last few years, the early part of our season is typically the lighter portion of the schedule. Not to take anything away from St. Olaf and Macalester as both of those schools have improved dramatically over the past year. I look forward to seeing what both of those teams bring to the MIAC Championships this year as it seems like they are better than they have been the last few years. 

The upcoming weeks will tell us a lot about where our team is really at for this season. We have an invite against Gustavus (Macalester and Morningside as well) which will be the first real test for the team this year, and then the Mid-Season Invite at the Rochester Rec Center. Gustavus will be a good meet for us to see how our team stacks up against the best team in the conference the last few years. I expect our guys to step up and swim well, but I think it will be a very good meet. Lastly, for the semester we’ll head to Rochester for a Mid-Season Invite. We do a partial rest for this meet and we throw on some tech suits so guys will certainly swim fast at this meet. With great competition like St. Cloud State, UW-La Crosse and UW-Eau Claire, we should find our team in a great meet before the end of the semester.  

This team is in position to do some great things at the end of the year as well. In looking at how the conference stacks up, we feel very good about our opportunities at the end of the season. I would encourage you to follow our team on social media (@SJUSwimandDive) if you do that sort of thing, otherwise, check out www.gojohnnies.com once in a while to see how the team is doing. We will have some great meets in January as we prepare for the MIAC Championships in February. MIACs will take place on February 19 – 22, 2025 at the U of M. We would really love to have a great crowd of Johnnie fans at the meet if you are able to make it.  

Lastly, as my November blog, I’d like to take a minute to give thanks. I feel so blessed to be able to do what I do, and truly appreciate all the people that work so hard to make sure that this program is supported, and our guys have what they need in order to be successful. Our alumni have been so wonderful and supportive of this team and helped us raise money to buy the tech suits our guys need to compete at the highest level. It’s been great to see alumni showing up to our home meets throughout the year, and special thanks to Dirk Westveer for coming and talking to the team before our first home meet. If anyone else would be interested in talking with the team, we would love to have you come and do a pep talk to the boys before a home meet. Reach out and let me know you are interested, and we can find a date that works for you. Lastly, I’m so thankful to my family and especially my wife Becca who literally makes it possible for me to have this job. She works doubly hard during the season as I’m basically an absent father during the season. I am so thankful of all the supportive people of me and this program and want to simply give thanks this November to all who support this program. We are so appreciative of you all and all that you do for this program. 

Look forward to seeing you at a meet soon!