A tradition of the young season, the 35th annual New Paltz Alumni Meet went off with great success.

Welcome back alums!

Over 60 alumni returned to to the Elting Pool to participate in competition and meet with old friends.  Among the crowd were:  Hall of Fame Coach Art Stockin; 1972 alum Thomas Tyrol; 1984 record holders Paul Strothenke, Paul Robbins, Mark Schoenherr, and Brian Hanratty; Hall of fame alumni Louis Petto; former diving coach Robyn Gullickson; Varsity record holders Kent Yeung, Jon Amoia, Liz Delia, Joanna Masterson, Danielle Lindner, and many more.

Along with the hoopla that surrounded the return of the alumni were some great early season swims.  Sprinters Billy Papetti and Corey Lomas had eye-opening perfromances in the 50, Steve Cozzolongo had a great 100 IM, and Pete Nastasi put in a strong runner-up performance in the 200 Free.  Marissa Morris had a great 50 split in the relay, and the NP women discovered its gem of the freshmen women’s class.

Our first meet of the season is October 24th as the Hawks travel to NYU for a double-dual along with Stevens Tech.

The 1984 relay record discusses strategy for the days race

Coach Whitbeck giving advice to Coach Ellis and co.

“I’ll never forget getting to Emory University for the 1984 Division III NCAA Finals and being so intimidated. Mark and I were Seniors so this was our last chance at making All America. Art (coach) got us to the pool the day before. Our ranking was pretty low, so we did not think we had a chance. But looking from the stands we saw a 6′ x 6′ Banner on the pool deck and it said “Yeah Baby Yeah”, initially we all thought’ who stole our cheer?’. But we went down to investigate, the NP Women’s Swimmers had just been there for their NCAA Finals and hung this Banner for us. It was at that moment all my nerves and intimidation went out the window, we went onto make All America and a 25 year record!”

– Brian Hanratty

It was 1984.  Last year, a runner up finish at the Metropolitan conference championships had ended NP athletics’ greatest dynasty– 4 straight team championships–and the team was focused and dedicated as they approached the final meets of the season.  It was this year that the quartet of Paul Strothenke, Paul Robbins, Mark Schoenherr, and Brian Hanratty set a mark of 3:09.09 in the 400 Freestyle Relay.  This record still stands today as the oldest remaining varsity record on the board.  As this milestone reaches its 25^th (and final!) year, we take a look back and relive the memory of this season.  Who better to tell this story than the hall of fame coach himself, Art Stockin…

From Art Stockin—legendary swimming coach @ New Paltz

It’s funny how things happen. I guess we all need the how’s of why things happen, even if they are one person’s theory.  We all seem to have a basic need to have things explained.  Here is my explanation of the record setting 400 yd. Free Relay.

We didn’t have any idea at the time that that relay set the record, that it would stand up all of these years. In fact, that was probably the farthest thing from our thinking.  We were all caught up in the moment.  As you all know, the 400 free relay is the last event on the college dual meet as well as championship schedule of events. That occurrence in itself is quite prophetic. Whether the designer was that clever or whether it was just happenstance is as mysterious as how Doubleday came up with 90 feet as the perfect distance from home plate to 1st base.  Anyway, the 400 free relay so many times becomes the exclamation point of a meet, a season, or a career.

For three seasons in the early 80’s, our teams had one loss seasons, all three of those losses came at the hands of West Point and all came down to the last leg of the 400 yd. free relay.  All four members of the 1984 record setting relay had suffered the frustration of seeing a perfect season dashed by West Point.  That relay team, although they won the Metropolitan Conference Championship 400 relay, lost the overall championship to their evil opponents from Stony brook. They were frustrated, but they weren’t defeated.

In struggle and loss, character is developed. Perseverance seems to be the one trait that will eventually spell success.  Ironically, it is not always talent that wins. Of course the four members of that relay had individual talent, but a relay is special.  It is a beautiful thing to see when it clicks and an awful experience if it doesn’t. Relays are my favorite part of swimming.  They are one short of a basketball team and they must play as a team.  Nothing brings you to the front of your seat more than a meet deciding relay.

That relay of four men had lost and developed character along the way.  They had persevered and were out to prove one last time that they really were winners.  They even believed that they could go 3:06 if they put it all together.  Strothenke, Robbins, and Hanratty had all made All-American in individual events multiple times but Schoenherr, although, qualifying for individual events , had never achieved an All-American award. This was his last chance and he was going to do his part if it killed him. This group had a team bond and a love for each other that ran much deeper than individual achievement.  Without saying it, deep down they wanted to get this for Schoenherr.

Strothenke, although our most decorated All-American, was ironically the slowest member of that team.  The distance was just to short for him.  But his fight was incredible!  We led off with him.  He always closed the gap on his last length. Robbins went second.  He was our fastest swimmer.  He was just fast and he really believed he could beat anybody.  He made up for anything that Stro may have given away. He turned it over to Schoenherr in clean water. Now it was up to our two seniors, Schoenherr and Hanratty.  Schoenherr knew this spot like the back of his hand.  He had swam 100 yds over his career more than any other event. He had missed turns and won touch outs and had been touched out.  He had been on numerous championship teams and on numerous championship relays. He had filed it all away and had matured as a swimmer and as a person along the way. On his leg it all clicked.  He studied the walls on each turn and concentrated on details like holding his breathing pattern and the drive to the finish. He did his part. He swam a career best 100 in the last race of his career.  Now it was up to Hanratty.  Hanratty was a perfect specimen.  Perfect body, perfect stroke, a perfectionist.  He was never satisfied.  He always thought he could do better.  Above all, he was the ultimate competitor, the ideal guy to have at the end of your relay. As one team member described him, “He would give everything away to a competitor but the finish.”  He knew how to get his hand on the wall.  That, I think he was born with!  They finished in 3:09.09.  They could have been faster but I think they were conservative on their takeoffs, fearful of being D.Q’d.

It was a moment I have clearly recalled all of these years. I am sure they have also.  It was one of those moments in time, three minutes and nine seconds that will last a lifetime.  I love those guys.  They loved each other and that experience at Emory University.  They persevered and were successful.

Paul Strothenke lives and works in New Paltz, NY.  He is the owner of Mid- Hudson VIP, a employee benefits / health insurance agency.  He and his wife Mary have three children – Dan (sophomore @ Geneseo), Luke (senior @ NP high school) and Mark (sophomore @ NP high school).

Paul Robbins works for Godsell construction company in Manhatten and lives on Long Island.  His record in the 50 free was just broken last season.

Brian Hanratty works for Pitney Bowes in Stamford, CT in their Corporate Real Estate Department as Project Manager handling Lease Transactions.

The 400 Free Relay Team (1984)

Please check out the 2nd edition of the Hawks Nest Newsletter.  In this edition:

• Key Dates for 2009-2010
• Alumni Weekend Update
• A Record Relived:  The 1984 Men’s 400 Freestyle Rela

Hawks Nest Newsletter 1.2

–Coach Scott

Learn to Swim fall 09

Launched in Spring 2009, the SUNY New Paltz Varsity Swimming program is offering lessons to children in the area looking to sharpen their skills in the pool.  This program is a direct fundraiser for the varsity team and will help swimmers travel to Florida for our annual trip and purchase state of the art swimming suits.

This fall, there will be 2 programs going on simulataneously:

Learn to Swim: Ages 4 and up.  Just learning how to swim?  This is for you!  Instructors will follow the American Red Cross level system to help your swimmer progress.

Competitive Lessons: Just started swimming competitively?  Are you in the DUSO or another summer league?  Sharpen your skills with the instruction of a college varsity athlete at New Paltz!  Ages 6-14.

__________________________

The Program: This is an 8 session program that spans 2 weeks, going Monday through Thursday from September 14-25.  Swimmers will be paired either individually with an instructor or in a small 2-3 person group (depending on ability level).  All instructors are college varsity swimmers.

Cost: $80 for the entire program

Location: All sessions are at the Elting Pool on the campus of SUNY New Paltz.  Parents are welcome to watch!

__________________________

Want to Pre-Register?  Download this flyer and sent it in with payment:  Learn to Swim fall 09

You can also register in person on Thursday Sept 10 from 4:00-6:00 at the Elting Pool @ SUNY New Paltz

Hope to see you there!  If you have any questions, please contact me 845-257-2671 or whitbecs@newpaltz.edu

2009 Elite Swim Camp

This past July 12-16, Coaches and Alums of New Paltz completed the inaugural New Paltz Elite Swim Camp.  36 local swimmers spent a week in the Elting Pool where they received instruction on all 4 strokes that included drills, video taping, video critique, stroke discussion, reaction drills, turn skills, visualization, and some mini-workouts.

While a majority of local camps tend to be filled with younger kids ages 6-9 and student counselors, this camp was quite different.  Counselors at the camp included alumni Louis Petto (Head Coach @ Ocean County YMCA), alumni Erica Ellis (assistant coach @ Vassar College), NP athletic trainer Kevin Joyce, Danielle Grobmyer (assistant coach @ UMass) and me.  Counselors were assisted by senior captain Steve Cozzolongo, who demostrated and helped with drills in the morning.  13 of the 36 student were ages 13 and older, which created a dynamic and motivated makeup of campers.

The athletes began the day by splitting into 4 stations — drills, stroke discussion, video taping, and dryland.  After that 2 hour session they combined and all swam a mini-workout for 1 hour, doing many of the same sets that the college team does.  After a 1 hour break the athletes returned for a short lecture on varying topics such as stretching, nutrition, and championships suits.   The camp finished with an additional 2 hour segment of 4 stations that included more drills, starts and turns, video critique, and then a combination of either reaction drills, turn skills, or visualization.

This is hopefully the first of many on the campus of SUNY New Paltz, many thanks to those that attended and those that helped.  I anticipate 2 weeks of camp for 2010– week #1: elite intensive camp June 28-July 1, and Week #2: elite technique camp, July 5-9.  More information next spring.

Group 1

Group 2

Group 3

Group 4

The College Swimming Coaches Association has released its annual Scholar All-American awards, and I am proud to announce that 4 of our women have received Scholar All-American Honors and our Women’s Team was named a CSCAA Scholar All-American Team for Spring 2009.

Rising junior Marissa Morris (Tom’s River, NJ) has been named a Scholar All-American.  To be considered for this award, an athlete must have qualified for the NCAA Championships and achieved a GPA a 3.50 or higher.

Graduated seniors Erica Ellis and Joelle Hopf, and rising junior Jess Lester have been named Honorable Mention Scholar All-Americans.  For this, the athletes must have achieved an NCAA Consideration Time as well as a GPA of 3.50 or higher.

Our women’s team has continued to excel in the classroom, claiming a team GPA of 3.47 for spring 2009, which tied them for 16th in the NCAA among ALL division 3 teams.  They have been named a Scholar All-American Team yet again.

Many congratulations to all the recipients!

Scholar All-American article

Scholar All-American team article

Hawk Swimmers, Parents, Alumni and Supporters:

Check out the first edition of the Hawks Nest Newsletter.

–Coach Scott

Joelle Hopf and Erica Ellis, who both graduated this past May 17th from New Paltz, have accepted coaching positions at other colleges beginning in the fall.   Please extend your congratulations to both of them!

Joelle Goes to Ithaca

The Bombers of Ithaca College have hired Joelle for next season as a graduate assistant in women’s swimming.  She joins a program that won the 2009 UNYSCSA / Empire 8 Championships and finished 13th at the NCAA Division III National Championships.  She will serve as the assistant under Paula Miller, who has guided the Lady Bombers since 1984.  In addition to coaching, Joelle will also attend graduate school in Sport Management.

Erica Hired at Vassar

Cross-town rivals Vassar College have named Erica as a full-time assistant for the 2009-2010 campaign.  Both Vassar’s Men’s and Women’s programs finished 10th at the UNYSCSA Champioship Meet this past February.  Erica will assist underneath Interim Head Coach Paul Kueterman, who replaces long time coach Lisl Prater-Lee during her year of sabbatical.  Most notably, New Paltz will renew its long-standing rivalry against the Brewers when they face off at Vassar on Saturday November 21st.

Article from collegeswimming.com.  Congratulations and best wishes to Lauren!

Huntingdon, PA , May 29th, 2009

Lou Petto, 6x NCAA Champion

LOUIS PETTO is a 1994 graduate of SUNY New Paltz and one of its most famous alumni in athletics.  During his time as a New Paltz swimmer, Lou won 6 NCAA individual titles, claiming the 200 and 500 freestyles at the 1992, 1993, and 1994 NCAA Championships.  Lou still hold New Paltz’s varsity records in the 100 free, 200 free, 500 free, 1000 free, 1650 free, 200 IM, and 400 IM as well as numerous pool records (highlighted by an eye-opening 4:36.74 in the 500 at a duel meet in Nov 1992).  He also still holds 4 SUNYAC conference records.  A lifelong supporter of the school and the program, Lou regularly returns to the Elting pool deck each year to take on the up-and-coming sprinters at our annual alumni meet (this year held Oct 10th), and also keeps in close contact with all of the current and past coaches of the program.  On October 16th, 1999, Lou was inducted into the New Paltz Athletics Hall of Fame.

Lou is currently completing his 7th season as the Head Coach of the Ocean County YMCA in New Jersey.  This summer, he’ll take a short break from coaching to return to campus and help coach the 1st New Paltz Elite Swim Camp, held in Elting pool July 12-16.

10 QUESTIONS WITH LOUIS PETTO

1.  You’re still very intimately involved in the sport of swimming.  Lets talk about your current job.. where you live, your position, etc..

I have been coaching age group swimming since I graduated from New Paltz.  I did it part time in CT while I went back to school to get certified to teach.  I loved it so much that in 1999 I decided I wanted to go into a career as a full time swim coach.  From 1999 to 2002, I was a full time swim coach with Stingrays Swimming in Marietta, GA.  In 2002, I took the Head Coach position at the Ocean County YMCA in Toms River, NJ.  I am still here at OCY, and have a house nearby in Jackson, NJ.

2.  What’s your favorite part about this job?

I get to help people swim fast.  They learn the life lessons that come along with the many successes and disappointments that are part of the sport of swimming.  Most of the time I am ‘working’– although this profession doesn’t feel like a job.

3.  You’ve had a lot of success at OCY in the last few years.  In what ways do you motivate your athletes to excel?

By simply letting them know that swimming fast is fun.  It’s fun to accomplish a goal.  We have a team motto that I brought to the team– “None of the secrets of success work unless you do”.  The staff, swimmers, and parents here at OCY have bought into that motto.  There is no magic pill that a swimmer can take to be successful.  Swimmers simply have to commit and work hard and they will experience success.

4.  You graduated from New Paltz in 1994, what was your degree in?

Athletic Administration, before they dropped the phys-ed curriculum.

5.  Looking back, was New Paltz the right choice for you?

Without a doubt.  It had a large part in shaping me into the person I am today.

6.  You are still very connected to the swimming community, how many NP alumni do you still keep in touch with?

I can’ t count.  Np Swimming Alumni are still among my closest friends.

7.  This is random but I’ve got to know… New Paltz has so many unique local restaurants, which one is your favorite and why?

P & G’s.  It has not changed since I came up to New Paltz on my recruit trip.  Good food, good spirits, and good people.

8. Do you have a favorite memory of your time on the swim team?

My sophomore year winning my first National Championship in the 500 free was pretty special.  The meet was at the University of Buffalo so my Dad and a lot of my teammates were able to be there for the meet.

But I do have to say going on our training trips was a blast.  Living with your teammates in a hotel for 17 days, working our tails off in the Hall of Fame pool twice a day and hanging out on the beach in Fort Lauderdale was awesome.  Our hotel rooms were efficiency rooms and we had to cook for ourselves on $5 a day for each person in the room.

I don’t miss the 2000 for time I did every week at Tuesday morning practice..

9.  You swam for Hall of Fame coach Art Stockin. What do you remember about his coaching style?  Do you use anything he taught you?

Coach had a plan for the season.  There wasn’t a stone left unturned when preparing for the season or a meet.  Our practices always had a purpose.  Monday we focused on Day 1 Championship events.  Tuesday was day championship events, Wednesday was recovery day (at least that was what was on the title of the 6500 yard practice for the day), Thursday was day 3 championship events, Friday was our Animal Kick Set Day (10 x 100 Kick on your best interval, I got down to doing my 100s on 1:10), and Saturday was meet day.  We did mornings Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.

I really liked this plan.  I knew that on Monday I would be working on my 500 Free, Tuesday the 200 Free, and Thursday the 100 Free.  It was like that every week all four years I went to New Paltz.  The consistency week in and week out gave me a gauge to see where I was in my training and what, if any, adjustments I needed to take.

The other really great thing about coach is he had very high expectations for us.  I won 6 National Championships and didn’t ever reach one of the goal times that coach would set for me.  I liked the challenge.  His high expectations allowed me to know that I was capable of achieving great things.  Every year there would be one person on the team that would reach his time goals.  I remember the people that did achieve Coach’s goal times say they didn’t think it was possible to swim that fast until coach set these goals for them.

I don’t use the same sets or plan that coach used with us. I coach High School club swimmers and our season is much different than the college season.  I have to be more flexible with having kids from so many different high schools, especially during the High School season.  My swimmers primarily train with me, but their meet schedule is not consistent from school to school.  It was when we travel for meets (especially for YMCA Nationals) that we have a plan and have not deviated from that plan on our trips in years.  My swimmers like to know what is ahead of them when we go to major competitions.  The more consistent we can be when traveling, the more focused my swimmers can be on swimming fast.

10.  Finally, this year’s team brought 2 women to the NCAA Championships and had 8 athletes that earned NCAA Consideration times.  Do you have any advice for the current team about the challenges of competing at the National Level and being their best?

TRAIN HARD IN THE OFF-SEASON!!!  Your commitment to training must be a year round approach.  Because the swimmers can’t train with Coach Scott outside the season they have to be responsible to continue to train.  Go back to your club team in the summer or find one that will take you.  You need to start the official season being in shape and ready to go.

Lou’s lifetime best performances:

100 Free- 45.44 (1994)

200 Free- 1:38.71 (1994)  NCAA Champion 1992, 1993, 1994

500 Free- 4:30.30 (1994)  NCAA Champion 1992, 1993, 1994

1000 Free- 9:37.61 (1992)

1650 Free- 16:05.88 (1992)

You can follow Lou’s professional successes at Ocean County Y here: http://www.ocyswim.org/