It’s 7 a.m. on a Friday, and the members of the women’s swimming team are starting their third day of practice.
“If you think you’re weak in butterfly, I want to see it,” Coach Steve Kaczmarek tells the team. “If you think you’re weak in backstroke, I want to see that, too.”
Two dozen women jump in the water to warm up their strokes.
This is the first year for Guilford’s Women’s Swimming Team, but they don’t show it. These swimmers are motivated and strong, and their coach, who has 31 years of experience under his belt, knows exactly what they need.
“We’re here to enjoy swimming and to have fun,” Kaczmarek says. But goals are already being set this first week of practice. “I think we can win at least 3rd at the conference,” he says.
For a first-year team with no record on which to base estimates of performance, the championship might be distant hope. Despite this, motivation and inspiration are plentiful among the group.
First-year team member Robin Judge spoke with a former swimmer of Kaczmarek’s and was told, “If you can’t get along with (Kaczmarek), you can’t get along with anyone.”
Now that she’s working with him, she agrees.
“Coach really knows what he is doing,” said first-year Annie Irving.
That’s not surprising, considering he coached high school swim teams in TX that included one All-American swimmer and 10 All-State swimmers. Kaczmarek also earned District Coach of the Year 17 times between 1979 and 1994, received a regional coaching honor in 1990, and was considered in 1986 for Texas High School Swim Coach of the Year. He is a member of the American Swimming Coaches Association and a lifetime member of the Texas Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association.
Kaczmarek directly helped recruit at least 15 of the current swimmers, but that is not the real reason these women joined the team.
“We all love swimming,” said junior Ashley Kangarloo.
Judge added, “Since this is everyone’s first year swimming at Guilford, there is no stigma from veterans.” Everyone is starting out with a completely equal record.
In fact, the upperclassmen may be at a disadvantage. Many have not swum on a team since high school.
“It’s hard to get back to where I was,” Kangarloo said. “(But Kaczmarek) caters to all different levels of swimming,” she says, making it easy for everyone to enjoy being a part of the team.
“They’ve really blown me away by how good they are, because you never really know what you’re going to have with a first year team,” said Kaczmarek.
The team is equally enthusiastic.
When they compete in their first meet at home on Oct. 30 against Emory and Henry, Kangarloo says, “We’re going to shock them right out of the water!”
The swim team practices Mon. through Fri. from 6-8 a.m. in the Ragan-Brown field house pool.