Congratulations to
the team and the coaches at Kenyon for their NCAA Championship victories last
week. For the men’s team it was the 30th
straight championship, for
the women it was their third straight and 27th NCAA championship. The
30 straight is the longest streak in any division in any sport. That is almost
impossible to comprehend. Jim the Steen the architect of all this is truly an amazing individual. His focus and
dedication is off the charts. Yesterday when
I called him to congratulate him all he wanted to talk about was what we needed
to modify in the dryland program for next and what we needed to do to get one particular
swimmer to get specifically stronger. 27 of the championships’ were won
preparing in a six lane shallow pool that most high schools would consider
subpar. It has only been the last three years that they have been in their
state of the art new facility. There is a lesson here, it is not about
facilities, it is about people, great coaches interacting with great students
turning them into great swimmers.
1 Comment
Mark Day
Jim’s ability to recognize and tweak the athlete’s training to be their best for Nationals can not be overlooked. As you have said Vern, it is part art. To get beat in their own conference meets but still be able to win Nationals every year is amazing. I feel fortunate to have been able to spend 4 great years with those guys “on the Hill”. Go Lords and Ladies!