The Behrend Beacon Q & A: Who's Behind the Scenes? I Assistant swim coach Jennifer Shack: knows what it takes to he the best ! by Kate Levdansky Petrikis assistant sports editor Assistant men’s and women’s swimming coach Jennifer Slack graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 1999, where she swam all four years. She then received her master’s degree in education the next year. While completing her master’s, she was a volunteer assistant for Franklin Regional High School While Behrend is her full-time position, Slack has taught swim lessons for more than 10 years, coached a summer club team, has been part of the coaching staff at several Nike swim camps, and lifeguarded for years. Beacon: Being that you were a swimmer in college, what is the hardest obstacle you think college athletes have to overcome? Slack: Time management! All athletes have to put in a lot of practice hours, on average 20 hours a week. So, a collegiate athlete in any sport must learn to balance academics and athletics, along with having a social life and finding time ‘ le<" id ' T~ 1 ' PHOTO BY MIKE BELLO/BEHREND BEACON Swimm ' n 8 ls a I Assistant swim coach Jennifer Slack fondly remem- ex au ? tl "? • bers team pink. Read the story to find out more. s * ,or ’ „ ° . • mentally and • the class room and the pool or physically. You spend hour after hour •playing field, it takes a lot of pushing yourself to the limit with only • commitment and drive on top of your thoughts to occupy your mind. • figuring out when and how you are You have to wait ‘til the end of long ! going to fit everything you need to season to see any true results of your Every week, the Beacon wilt\ • into a 24 hour day. training, knowing that each start, turn engage in a little “ask and re- • • Beacon: Since you have the and finish could mean the difference spond” with someone who J l experience of winning awards such between an awesome swim or one doesn’t make the headlines. ! as The Big East Scholar Athlete and The University’s Bell Atlantic Scholar, do you think swimming is a challenging and competitive sport? Slack: Most definitely! Swimming is a lot harder then most people might think. You use all [your] muscle all the time, on top of the cardiovascular aspect of the sport. While strength is part of it, technique is very crucial. You could be the biggest, strongest guy out there, but if you can not get [your] muscles to work together it will not matter. Swimming is absolutely a competitive sport. Each year the swimming community grows, and while it grows, the fastest times keep dropping. In a sprint race, like the 50-meter freestyle, the top eight swimmers are separated by less than half a second, and that happens at all levels. Beacon: Do you feel swimming is more of an individual or team sport? Slack: Well, it is a little of both. Individually, what each swimmer puts into practice or a race is what they are going to get out the sport. At the same time, however, their performance has a direct effect on the outcome of the erefore, when you are individually successful your team has a better chance, but the reverse is also Saturday, February 9 Vs. La Roche @ 6:00 P.M. & 8:00 P.M. wnsored bv: Behrend Athletic Department & Lion Ambassadors PROMOTIONS: FREE Spirit Towels, Stress Balls, and Noise Makers will be given out at the entranceway to the first 100 Penn State Behrend Students IME EVENT: 3-Point Shooting Contest Prize: Spirit “Survivor" T-shirt Saturday, February 16 Vs. Pitt-Greensburg @ 6:00 P.M. & 8:00 P.M. Sponsored bv: McDonald’s & Gateway Computers MOTIONS: FREE McDonald's Shakes to all who answer the trivia question correctly HALFTIME EVENT: 3-Point Shooting Contest Prize: McDonald's Valu Meals A Gateway Prize Pack Slack: The most memorable meet coaching was last year at the Grove City Invite. It was Behrend’s first championship meet. While everyone swam really well, it seemed that every time it came to award time, we got sixth place and a pink medal. By the end of the meet, we had nicknamed ourselves team pink. It was good to see everyone come together and be a team. Beacon: When coaching, have you ever wanted to be the one racing? true. Just because a team may have one or Slack: Almost all the time, especially during the events that I used to swim. I do not necessarily want to put myself [through] the intense training I know I would have to do to swim my fastest. But I love the anticipation and thrill of competition, which is what I miss most. two stand-out swimmers does not mean that the team will win. To be a successful team, each member must be willing to make sacrifices for the better of the team. Beacon: Since you are also a lifeguard, have you ever rescued someone? Slack: Yes, I was working as the • lifeguard at a special needs school, * and one young man had a seizure in • the pool. • Beacon: What two characteristics do Beacon: What is the most * important thing to pay attention to • while lifeguarding? • Slack: There are a lot of things I to pay attention to while * lifeguarding, but if I had to pick one, • I would say the number of people • swimming in your area. Is every- * one there who was swimming 30 • seconds ago? If not, where did they • go? Not only do you need to know I where everyone is, but you should * keep an eye on what they are doing. • you need to make a good swimmer? Slack: and foremost, dedication! SPORTS Friday, February 8, 2002 [you’d] rather forget. You also need desire. Like any sport, you have to want it. There is a quote that comes to mind. “If you don’t invest very much, then defeat doesn’t hurt very much, and winning is not very exciting!” Beacon: What is your most memorable meet when racing? Slack: High school district championships my senior year, and we won. It was one of those meets where we knew we had a chance, but everyone was going to have to not only swim well but step up. That day, two of our top swimmers were sick, one of whom was not even able to swim. As it ended up, we were able to pull it off anyway. After three years of being close, it was a great way to end a high school career. Beacon: What was the most memorable meet while coaching? This week ’s senior athletic profile Katie Weigold: Basketbal has given her great memor Katie Weigold once despised current teammate Erin Phillips. Of course, it was when they were rivals at Villa Maria and McDowell, respectively. by Kate Levdansky Petrikis assistant sports editor I Senior basketball player Katie | Weigold started playing in the first | grade, when she would shoot hoops | with her father in the driveway. I “He taught me the basics: shoot | ing, dribbling, and passing,” said I Weigold. I She also learned from watching Michael Jordan. . “I was always in the driveway trying to get his moves down,” said • Weigold. I Weigold then played M YAA bas- I ketball until fifth grade when she I played for her grade school. I Weigold played many games | current teammate Erin | Phillips during their high school I days. | “Katie and I played against each | other in high school, when she ■ played for Villa Maria Academy and I played for McDowell,” said Phillips. “We were huge rivals. We always say it’s weird that we are such good friends now because we I hated each other back then.” I Phillips has one fond memory, at I least from her perspective, from | high school. | “The only thing that stands out | from those games is when we were | playing, and I set a screen on her | and flattened her to the ground.” | Weigold is co-captain along with ■ the three other seniors at Behrend, ■ where she plays the position of shooting guard, and sometimes, point guard. I Weigold said her coaches at I Behrend have taught her a lot about I the game both offensively and de- I fensively, and about life too. | “This year especially, they taught | me how to be a more offensive | minded and confident person,” she | said. “But, lam still working on j that.” | On the other hand, Weigold said I one of her strohgest characteristics is her perseverance. . “I have had injuries every year j that forced me to sit out most of my first three years at Behrend. But, I Jjust could not give up the game,” “I just went to pick up a loose ball, and could not stand back said Weigold. The in jury nagged her the entire season. During her sophomore year, Weigold tore the MCL in her knee. The tear hap pened in a game against Bethany, when she went for a loose ball and a girl fell on her knee. Weigold finished the half, then went to the trainer and found out it was torn In her junior year, Weigold sprained her ankle in practice, which kept her out most of the beginning of the year. “1 was on a fast break, and went to pass it when somehow, my ankle got all messed up,” said Weigold. “The injuries through the years have been a pain, but it makes being healthy and able to play my senior year that much sweeter.” Weigold said she has three major highlights in her basketball career. The first one would be a memory all four seniors share, which is cutting down the nets in Erie Hall after win ning the conference championship. “My whole life I had wanted to cut down the nets,” she said. “It had al ways been a goal of mine. The feel ing of climbing the ladder and cut ting it down, is something I know I will never forget”. Phillips remembers the post-game celebrating. “The rest of the team was celebrat ing and jumping up and down in this picture, but Katie and I are standing apart from the crowd,” she said. “It is something we always joke about.” The second highlight for Weigold was the trip to the NCAA tourna ment last season. “That had been a dream of mine as well, but that was definitely one that I thought would never come true,” said Weigold. Her last highlight is not one that many people would think of, but it was a highlight for her. “I have met and have come to know so many great people through playing,” said Weigold. “The friend ships I have made are one the things I know will be with me through my entire life.” Weigold said it is actually easier to manage her schedule during bas ketball season. “I know I have limited time to get my work done, so I make myself do it any chance 1 get,” she said. “When it is not basketball season, it seems like I have all the time in the world | to do things. So, I put everything | off thinking I have time to do it.” | When she is not studying or play- j ing basketball, Weigold likes to j watch television, movies, and hang | out with her friends. i said Weigold She suffered a protruding disk in her back her freshman year, when she had to sit out much of the beginning of the year. Weigold said she sees her mother ►' as a great friend and a role model. I? "She is the strongest person I know,” Weigold said. "No matter < what is going on in her life, she is t always there for me, and would do f? anything for anyone. I hope I can t*. be as good of a mother someday as f' she was for my sister and I.” [ Weigold has volunteered as a | coach at AAU basketball for sev- | eral years and enjoyed the experi- j ence mightily. | “I knew one of the coaches, and we started talking and she said she !f could use some help. So, 1 helped j her out during the beginning of the spring," said Weigold. “However, • my help was limited because of I schedule conflicts. But, this sum- I mer I got to help out a team of 13 I and 14-year-old girls. Wehadprac- | tice two-three times a week for | about two hours. We also traveled | to different tournaments through- | out the summer.” | After graduating with a degree in |- MIS, Weigold said she plans on r staying in Erie and finding a job. ! She also intends to coach a high | school basketball team. j “The most important thing that 1 » would teach the team would be that l you can be successful on the court, I but have fun at the same time," said | Weigold. “People can get so | wrapped up in the sport, and forger} that it is just a game. Plus, most j people play better when they are [ having fun. I would also teach | them that you can take many thing‘s you learn from the game and apply . them to life, such as the hard work, , dedication, and team work.” 5* Before each game Weigold said ‘ she usually eats some macaroni and. ( cheese and listens to some musical to get her fired up. Then, she goes,l over what the other team does. 1 ( * “We all know how important'} these last games are,” said Weigold.-'} “Especially the seniors, because know that these are the last gamesT| that we have in our basketball ca-J| reers. The whole team is going to i: give it their all, so we can end on a | good note. The seniors are the only j ones on the team who have won it J§ (AMCC) before, and I think every- jf one on the team deserves to have < that feeling of winning the chain- I pionship.” I Phillips praised Weigold for her I style of play. | “Katie is a good teammate be- j cause she is always encouraging us, | and doing the little things that; | sometimes go unnoticed,” said | Phillips. “She always hustles, anc( t sacrifices her body to make great plays. She works exceptionally i hard at everything she does. She [ does not give up, and is just a re- I ally good person.” I Page behrco!ls @ aol.com tes mmsm
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