Another Day at McKay (Blog #2)

It was 5:00AM when all 67 team members of the USC Swim team showed up downstairs in the McKay Center. Except today is more special because our team mate Dimitri Colupaev turns 22. There were Happy Birthdays being spread around but 22 is just another day to get closer to a gold medal in the next Olympics. Many of you may not know who Dimitri, also known as Dima, but he is from Germany and swam in the 2012 Olympics for Germany. Dima is a strong and dedicated swimmer for USC and Germany. He treats everyday as if it were an opportunity to become better than the best swimmers in the world. That takes pure dedication right there. However, just one day out of the year to relax is that too much to ask for?

Coach Kipp always tells the team to "train in ways your competition hasn't even thought of training because somewhere somehow someone is training just as hard if not harder to beat you someday." On Dima's 22nd birthday, he spent the early part of it being with us and training. The life of an Olympian revolves around becoming a better athlete in every way possible. Social life is one of them. Today, Dima has asked us to NOT post on his Facebook page. Why? Because he is monitored so closely that it is a pain for him to have to worry about people posting inappropriate things on his Facebook page. That is something that many of us do not understand and may never understand.

Hello World

It was the winter of 2010 when Head Coach Dave Salo of the men's and women's swim team, had a phone conversation with my head coach back at De Anza College about potential recruits. "Dave, we have a swimmer that you would be interested in. He works harder than everyone in this pool and his love for USC is something I have never seen in a young man," said my head coach at De Anza College. Dave was probably thinking, "I have a billion other recruits to look at who are USA National Swimmers and Olympians...why would I bother to look at this dude from a junior college...but what the heck..." So from my knowledge of that conversation on, I worked harder than I already worked and waited for the green light to give the recruiting trip call. And with much patience, that phone call came one morning a week after the coaches conversation; I was on my way to USC to be a potential swimmer 48 hours later.

Upon my arrival at USC, I was picked up at the air port by Team Captain Jack Ostler and Assistant Coach Jeremy Kipp. Both Jack and Kipp were enthused and happy to have myself and the other 3 recruits there. On our car ride back to USC, I met my future team mates and learned that two of them are international swimmers from Venezuela and Germany. Both of them had also been medalists at World Championships...I no longer felt like the best swimmer I had felt my whole life. Once we arrived at USC, we were introduced to one of the best swimmers in the world who was on the team, Vladimir Morozov. Chin held high and chest out, Vlad shook our hands and said, "Welcome to USC dude." My lifelong dream had finally come true, I am going to be a Trojan.

Throughout our recruiting trip, we were told of the USC legacy and traditions and what not. However, one thing I noticed was their behavior around social life. On a Thursday night, they were giving recruits a tour of Los Angeles and acting like they care instead of wanting to go party. However, they pulled it off quite well. As the trip went on, they started to distinguish themselves from the normal student with one all of their USC Athletics gear, their behavior towards athletic staff, and their daily attire. The attire of Jack Ostler was sweats, athletic shoes, and a USC Swimming t-shirt. I started to wonder, how is social life for athletes here?

I became closer with Vlad and Dimitri Colupaev, another Olympian on the team, and they told me stories about their time at USC being the best decision they have ever made and so on however, they began to leak details of their social life that many people do not understand. As a USC Olympian, Vlad is forced to behave in a standard that is above any other student and student -athlete. He is forced to tweet and create Facebook posts appropriately and is monitored by Russian National Athletics, USA Athletics, USC Athletics, and USA Swimming. I witnessed him struggling with a twitter post about a television show. He is forced to tweet about to seem "normal" however he could not find the words to say except "this TV show is f***ing hilarious!!!" Any student at USC can tweet that and nothing would happen. If a twitter account is monitored this closely, how is the social life of USC Olympians especially Team USA USC Olympians.

As a member of both the men's water polo and swim team at USC, I have been privileged to witness the life of an Olympian. Many people do not understand the life of a USC Olympian and there should be a level of understanding of an Olympians life because they are still human beings, which is something many people seem to forget at times. Just because Vlad has medals around his neck, does not make him any less human.

Surf's Up

It's the end of season and we only have morning practice.  Many of my teammates take advantage of this situation to go party every night at the 9-0 down by the row.  That place isn't exactly my cup of tea even though I am in a fraternity.  No I spend my nights watching movies and sleeping so I can get up bright and early as I were going to practice, but I get up and hit the road to Malibu when there is swell.  Luckily for me, the spring South/SouthWest swells are moving in rather frequently.  Right now there is a 10 foot South swell moving in a 185 degrees. With all the islands blocking Malibu, the swell will probably be 6-7 feet.

Waking up for morning practice has been a dread on me all year but waking up and driving out to the beach is the best feeling ever.  It only gets better when you get out there and you look at the water and all you see are perfect 4 foot barrels.  My social life may not be at the bar or in a bed with a girl, but it definitely has some meaning to it in barrels of water.  It is an undescribable feeling the moment you take off on that wave and the power of the wave just shoots you down the line.  A feeling that can only be felt during the act of doing it. 

AMF Seniors!

Last weekend we had our AMERICA party which as a GREAT SUCCESS! We had a blast and had significant turn out and not a single person left with an injury.  Our coaches also did not find out about this which is always a bonus.  It's funny that our coaches act like our parents back in high school because they try to contain us and we rebel against them.  But this weekend they definitely know about our party.  We have just finished up our swim meet in Texas and some of us qualified for World University Games and some of us did not. But regardless we are now back in Southern California ready to AMF our seniors. 

AMF is a tradition we have had on the swim team for decades where we say "Adios Motherf***ers" to our seniors.  It is always the happiest and saddest time of the year.  Our seniors are our leaders and our teammates.  They will always remain those who we shared terrible and great moments with them.  Last year as a transfer, the senior class leaving was a shock factor to me because I did not know what to do when our seniors would leave.  The people I looked up to for answers were now gone to live their lives away from the pool, some in different pools in different countries.  It's always hard for the freshman and transfer class to say goodbye to the seniors, but little do they realize that that is going to be them in a very short amount of time. 

The senior class this year is one of the more goofy senior classes with the loudest person on the team leaving.  Justin Difederico is a short blonde surfer boy from Calabasas, CA who always has something to say even in the worst situations.  DiFed never has a pout on his face even in the worst situations.  A clear memory I have of DiFed was on a 36 degree morning on deck, he runs out of the locker room and screams "CAN SOMEONE CRANK UP THE AC UP IN THIS JOINT! MY NIPPLES COULD GET A LITTLE MORE SHARPER!"  The entire team and coaches went from cold and serious to happy and smiling even in 36 degree weather.  DiFed, we'll miss you a ton next year! 

AMF is not only a tradition, but it is a huge party as well.  Those monster frat parties that are happen all year do not compare to this party.  Our AMF party is known as the "best party of the year."  It not only brings the most attractive people but it brings us together as a team in more than one way appropriate or inappropriate.  Last AMF, we danced, laughed, drank, and made some really really bad decisions, but we did it as a team.  This year is going to be just as epic of a night if not any better! USC SWIMMING PRIDE

End of Season

Well it's the end of the swim season and it's our tradition to have a party at the swim house!  Friday night: time to go get booze and get the word out to as many people as possible.  Our parties are not the typical parties because we are a co-ed team, meaning we don't discriminate against guys.  Another part of the party that is different is that more than half of the team will be passed out drunk before the night even gets to midnight.  We spend all year getting up at 5AM and reporting to the pool and weight room.  There is never a chance to go out and do anything social except for Saturday night and by nightfall, everyone becomes zombies and passes out. NOT THIS TIME

It's the first time, we've seen the girls put on make up and dresses for a long time and it's a rather good feeling.  Swimcest is just around the corner tonight!  The best part about this party is the theme of it...AMURRRRIIIICA!  Since we have so many foreign athletes who are Olympians and they usually run the show in the water.  When it comes to parties, we are going to show them that they are in America tonight.  American flags, bandanas, paper towels, tables, and anything you can think of.  And the best part is the foreigners are not allowed to come into the house if they are not wearing something red, white, and blue.  Social life is beginning to shape up here for us and we are not going to have to wake up for practice or anything!

On to the logistical boring stuff of this party...we have to make sure all athletes can get into the party, no frat boys that we don't like, and the party stays outside.  The last time we decided to have a party before we started training, we had a freshman tennis player come over and fall out the window and break his arm...he was not American and was the best recruit in the country...Compliance decided to almost suspend our team and make us all take an alcohol edu class...he had maybe 4 shots...damn foreigners can't handle their booze!

Trifecta

Hello World!
It was the winter of 2010 when Head Coach Dave Salo of the men's and women's swim team, had a phone conversation with my head coach back at De Anza College about potential recruits. "Dave, we have a swimmer that you would be interested in. He works harder than everyone in this pool and his love for USC is something I have never seen in a young man," said my head coach at De Anza College. Dave was probably thinking, "I have a billion other recruits to look at who are USA National Swimmers and Olympians...why would I bother to look at this dude from a junior college...but what the hell..." So from my knowledge of that conversation on, I worked harder than I already worked and waited for the green light to give the recruiting trip call. And with much patience, that phone call came one morning a week after the coach's conversation; I was on my way to USC to be a potential swimmer 48 hours later. 

Upon my arrival at USC, I was picked up at the air port by Team Captain Jack Ostler and Assistant Coach Jeremy Kipp. Both Jack and Kipp were enthused and happy to have myself and the other 3 recruits there. On our car ride back to USC, I met my future team mates and learned that two of them are international swimmers from Venezuela and Germany. Both of them had also been medalists at World Championships....I no longer felt like the best swimmer I had felt my whole life. Once we arrived at USC, we were introduced to one of the best swimmers in the world who was on the team, Vladimir Morozov. Chin held high and chest out, Vlad shook our hands and said, "Welcome to USC dude." My lifelong dream had finally come true, I am going to be a Trojan. 

Vladimir Morozov at NCAA Championships 2013 Indianapolis, Indiana

Throughout our recruiting trip, we were told of the USC legacy and traditions and what not. However, one thing I noticed was their behavior around social life. On a Thursday night, they were giving recruits a tour of Los Angeles and acting like they care instead of wanting to go party. But, they pulled it off quite well. As the trip went on, they started to distinguish themselves from the normal student with one all of their USC Athletics gear, their behavior towards athletic staff, and their daily attire. The attire of Jack Ostler was sweats, athletic shoes, and a USC Swimming t-shirt. I started to wonder, how is social life for athletes here?

I became closer with Vlad and Dimitri Colupaev, another Olympian on the team, and they told me stories about their time at USC being the best decision they have ever made and so on. Additionally, they began to leak details of their social life that many people do not understand. As a USC Olympian, Vlad is forced to behave in a standard that is above any other student and student -athlete. He is forced to tweet and create Facebook posts appropriately and is monitored by Russian National Athletics, USA Athletics, USC Athletics, and USA Swimming. I witnessed him struggling with a twitter post about a television show. He is forced to tweet about to seem "normal" however he could not find the words to say except "this TV show is f***ing hilarious!!!" Any student at USC can tweet that and nothing would happen. If a twitter account is monitored this closely, how is the social life of USC Olympians especially Team USA USC Olympians.  For this reason, Vlad decided to not delete his twitter account and said "Social media sucks anyways, what I do is no one's business." Amen to that Vlad!

As a member of both the men's water polo and swim team at USC, I have been privileged to witness the life of an Olympian. Many people do not understand the life of a USC Olympian and there should be a level of understanding of an Olympians life because they are still human beings, which is something many people seem to forget at times. Just because Vlad has medals around his neck, does not make him any less human

Profile Post

"A Shot of Jack"

A shot of Jack Daniels will go down smoothly and give you a great night of smiles and high fives.  However, have you ever wondered what a shot of Jack Ostler can do?  This blogger is Jack Ostler, an avid surfer that has documented his travels throughout the world ranging from Australia to Africa.  Jack took this trip immediately after graduation to explore the world and on this trip he began in Sydney, Australia.  There, Jack spoke about all of the adventures he had with the local people and with the culture.  One of the most comical experiences includes a moment in Australia where a friend suggested going swimming.  Jack said, “He imagined myself swimming countless laps while Dave Salo yells at me in an Australian accent."  Before we continue, let’s rewind.  Jack and I were teammates for a year in our previous season on the USC Swim team.  Jack was the team captain due to his great leadership skills.  Jack often spoke about traveling the world one day to surf and just to expand his horizons; he has finally done it. 

Jack's front yard with some teammates and the girlfriend

Recently “A shot of Jack” has been stopped because of his escapades coming to an end.  However, when he was posting, they were daily blogs.  Jack posted regularly about his surfing adventures and how the waves are different from the waves in California.  This really gained a lot of attention because he created a significant atmosphere for his readers to truly understand what he was feeling and seeing at that exact moment.  Personally, Jack’s surfing adventure is something every surfer wishes to achieve at some point in life.  The blogs combination of surfing and memory of USC athletics is one that I wish see myself in someday soon after graduation next spring. 

Jack’s blog may not directly relate to what I intend to pursue as a career, but it does directly relate to how I may want to spend a certain part of my life with someone.  When Jack embarked on his journey, he was dating a teammate of ours and they traveled the world together and had only each other and local people to rely on for comfort.  It not only brought them closer together, it also forced them to act logically in certain situations.  This close relationship I have with Jack strengthens his writing personally.  The audience based on the comments and such are almost from all people Jack knows from California.  The majority of these people are also very young and surfers.  This is exactly what Jack intended to do with his blog along the way, inspire the younger crowd to explore the world. 

Jack had some stories to tell his future kids.  All it took were some intimate sunsets and sunrises with amazing barrels in the ocean.  This may not be a professional blog, but it is a blog that is written from the heart and truly connects to the future leaders of America.  Jack is not only a dedicated surfer and graduate from USC; he now works on economic planning with a sports camera company called GoPro.  “You can have fun and be a hero all in a day.”

Voice Post

"Learning to be a surfer girl in Los Angeles..."

For some odd reason, everyone things that the city of Los Angeles has great surf...MYTH!!!! This city does not have good surf!  And it gets worst, everyone and their grandmothers think El Porto has the greatest surf...the waves close out, the break is right next to a water treatment facility, and you have vultures for parking police.

This blogger "Outdoor Chick"recently moved to the city of Los Angeles and decided to pick up surfing.  In her first blog, she stated that she went to that dreaded place, El Porto, looking for some "20 nice peelers"...rookie mistake to look for it at El Porto.  Her voice so far seems extremely clear that she loves to surf and will do whatever it takes to surf.  This is a very inspiring beginning to a blog to those who are not aware of the surf in the city of Los Angeles.  It is understandable that she was caught in this myth of El Porto because she is goofy footed.  We discover this when she states that she "loves to go left."  Any surfer would know that facing the wave is the best feeling anyone can feel.  Going left and facing the wave means she is goofy OR she can switch between goofy and regular. 

As her blogs continue she begins to have a more negative attitude towards El Porto, like many surfers in the region do.  She begins to search for other places to surf such as Sunset.  Her experience at Sunset was "tremendous" because she was able to surf with many other surfers and made a new friend, Michael.  Michael gave her pointers and showed her where to go to get left waves.  Throughout this blog post, she portrayed Michael to be more than just a "friend" or so it would seem.  "I met Michael (A cool dude I've never met before).  He rode some waves with me and gave me pointers!"  That use of the exclamation point creates a completely different picture for a reader than a period would; afterall, she is a surfer girl and it's always nice to see a girl out in the line-up of 30 dudes.  Michael can be much more than a friend as Outdoor Chick's blog continues....

The name Outdoor Chick really proves itself later in the blog when she ends up in Baja kiteboarding instead of surfing.  Additionally, she is also a working woman who believes in ditching work when the surf is up...what everyone who has access to the ocean should do.  "I returned from Baja and am in desperate need to recover..."  The voice throughout the blog does not change dramatically. However, she begins to talk about surfing in more personal terms such as naming her board "Jane" and describing the feeling of a wave as "nothing you can even put into words."  The struggle between work and surf is something that every surfer suffers from except for the professional surfers.  This blog digs into the reality of being pulled between work and surf and bad waves here but good waves there.  The struggles that every surfer suffers from being in the city of Los Angeles.  

Life immediately after NCAA

In the blog "A Shot of Jack" written by former Team Captain of the USC Men's Swim Team,  Jack Ostler, he wrote about a journey that he took immediately graduating from USC as an NCAA athlete.  Jack left the United States to Australia to Indonesia to the United Kingdom to Africa without any remorse.  This can be clearly seen when he describes his trip in Australia as "a blast".  Jack titles his blog "A Shot of Jack."  There is significant personality right there!  Jack was more than just a team captain for us back at USC.  He was a great teammate, a great friend, a role model, a fantastic wingman, and a surfing buddy.  Jack and I had our adventures from Malibu to Mexico and the title truly speaks to Jacks personality of a "shot" of him.  The word "shot" to us means a small amount that will get you interested in more.  Ironically, Jack Daniels happens to be Jack Ostler's favorite drink to get drunk too and we have had plenty of shots of Jack together in my years knowing Jack.

Directly underneath the title, Jack posts "thin places and happy places."  That is very similar to a saying I use very frequently in my life, "smiles and high fives."  This shows Jack's personality of great humor and cleverness.  As Jack embarks on his journey to Australia, he encounters a friend named "Violet."  This character is a "friend" that takes Jack and his friend on a great adventure throughout Australia.  Violet is a rather seductive name and Jack being a lady's man and all, did not give her full name.  This is another display of personality.  He knows when to have fun and be spontaneous, but at the same time has respect for people's boundaries.

As the blog continues, Jack states that "home can be when you're with a person." That shows how deep Jack can get.  Throughout the years of knowing Jack, sober and intoxicated, Jack has always maintained a level of interpersonal connection.  There has never been a moment where I needed advice and Jack was not there.  Even though he may seem like an extremely laid back character, underneath all of that is a sincere person and that is reflected here when Jack talks about spending time with his girlfriend Amanda.  Amanda is a coach in Ohio and a former NCAA swimmer.  She coached young kids which Jack referred to as "damn cute."  Personally, I can see Jack saying those words on the pool deck and mean it.  The personality that comes out of this portion of the post is one that many will not see unless they really read carefully into his words.  He went out to the bars with Amanda's brothers and began to be social with people from Ohio...and said "So preppy and weird.  They looked like they were going yachting in Nantucket.  I asked one when his flight to the Hamptons was.  He didn’t think it was funny."  Being the social and chill guy Jack is, he had no intention of any offense here and many people may take it that way.

A Shot of Jack

"A shot of Jack"

This blogger is Jack Ostler, an avid surfer that has documented his travels throughout the world ranging from Australia to Africa.  Jack took this trip immediately after graduation to explore the world and on this trip he began in Sydney, Australia.  There, Jack spoke about all of the adventures he had with the local people and with the culture.  One of the most comical experiences includes a moment in Australia where a friend suggested going swimming.  Jack said “[He] I imagined myself swimming countless laps while Dave Salo yells at me in an Australian accent.  Before we continue, let’s rewind.  Jack and I were teammates for a year in our previous season on the USC Swim team.  Jack was the team captain due to his great leadership skills.  Jack often spoke about traveling the world one day to surf and just to expand his horizons; he has finally done it. 

Recently “A shot of Jack” has been stopped because of his escapades coming to an end.  However, when he was posting, they were daily blogs.  Jack posts regularly about his surfing adventures and how the waves are different from the waves in California.  This really gained a lot of attention because he created a significant atmosphere for his readers to truly understand what he was feeling and seeing at that exact moment.  Personally, Jack’s surfing adventure is something every surfer wishes to achieve at some point in life.  The blogs combination of surfing and memory of USC athletics is one that I wish see myself in someday soon after graduation next spring. 

Jack’s blog may not directly relate to what I intend to pursue as a career, but it does directly relate to how I may want to spend a certain part of my life with someone.  When Jack embarked on his journey he was dating a teammate of ours and they traveled the world together and had only each other and local people to rely on for comfort.  It not only brought them closer together, it also forced them to act logically in certain situations.  This close relationship I have with Jack strengthens his writing personally.  The audience based on the comments and such are almost from all people Jack knows from California.  The majority of these people are also very young and surfers.  This is exactly what Jack intended to do with his blog along the way; inspire the younger crowd to explore the world. 

Jack is currently engaged to the woman that he took with him on his adventure throughout the world.  They got engaged in Bali when he met a “surf guru” named Nick.  All it took were some intimate sunsets and sunrises with amazing barrels in the ocean.  This may not be a professional blog, but it is a blog that is written from the heart and truly connects to the future leaders of America.  Jack is not just an engaged surfer; he now works on economic planning with a sports camera company called GoPro.  “You can have fun and be a hero all in a day.”

Show me Your Quiver--Social Bookmarking Soulmate

http://showusyourquiver.com/?about

Outside of the pool, there exists another body of water called the ocean.  As a swimmer and water polo player, I enjoy being in the water and I absolutely love surfing.  A blog titled "Show Me Your Quiver" is a photography blog of all the surfboards out there that I wish to ride at some point in life.  The boards can be long or short; fat or skinny.  Regardless they are boards that can ride God's greatest creation: waves.

The blog is all surfers from around the world and that is something that is extremely interesting because surfers around the world speaking all different languages can unite with one common interest: to ride waves.  No matter what the waves are and what size and shape they are a single language that unites us.  A code that all surfers follow is that we are all united by one ocean no matter where in the world.

That unity is something that truly sinks into my passion for surfing.  Outside of swimming and water polo, there are many things at USC that do not bring too much meaning to life.  For that reason, after finishing my career as a Trojan, I will be riding every wave in the world at some point before my last breath.

Cold as F***

Well we have arrived in Salt Lake City, Utah where it is COLD AS F***! It is currently 28 degrees outside and snowing...  We complain about it being cold at morning practice when it's 37 degrees outside!  Cold or hot, we have a duty to perform; we will win our final dual meet of the season.  This may be the last swim meet for some who do not qualify for Pac-12 Championships and NCAA Championships.  Since Utah is not as an elite of a school in the aquatics division, we can afford to swim people in all kinds of events.  The meet has begun and our day of traveling as been great! We had nothing but each other, meaning 37 guys stuck together at an airport, cold, and bored.  That with the USC swim team leads to snuggling for warmth and comfort, yes snuggling.  We have been snuggled up against each other for the past couple hours and even though the competition pool is indoors, it does not change the fact that it is cold as f***.

This meet should just be over already, we have a birthday to celebrate tonight at the hotel!  One of our seniors is turning 22 and we are stuck in Utah of all places to celebrate it.  We are also going to be sober for the night...weird for USC kids.  I wonder what it's like back at SC right now where it's probably warm, people are in shorts and t-shirts, people are tan, people don't say "Oh my heck" and so many more things that we are missing out on right now.  Enough of this party talk, time to focus!  We have 3 swimmers to qualify for NCAA at this meet and it is important that they do since they have been tapering.  The road to the National Championship is open and we are ready to charge at it! In this case, there's snow on that road...well time to go warm up and BEAT THE UTES!

The romantic side of Trojans

As everyone knows, yesterday was Valentine's Day.  The day where couples all go out to dinner and do all sorts of romantic things for one another and then the next day just continue living their lives.  Well it's not so much different for us athletes over here.  We had an athlete Valentine's Day dinner, where every athlete who attended was there for quick and quality food, a break from class, and/or just part of the usual routine to grab dinner at the Galen Dining Hall as we call it, "Little Galen."  Notice that within those reasons for attending the dinner, to find a valentine was not included?  Dating other athletes is something that we tend to stay away from because of how complicated things can get.

Athletes are humans with hearts as well and you can't help but have a crush on other athletes or even your own teammates in our case; we have a specific term for that called "Swimcest."  Even though we try to steer away from it, our young hearts gradually gravitate towards it.  This only makes sense though! For us swimmers and water polo players, we see each other in the least amount of clothing at all hours of the day.  We see each others flaws, gifts, talents, you name it.  That is a complication I faced last night, commit swimcest or muscle up and go talk to the blonde girl that lives right across the street from us?  Swimcest is something that does not take much "going out of the way" to do because well, there are plenty of girls and guys on the team of all ethnicities.  Blonde, brunette, dark, exotic, you name it.  Regardless of what happens romantically between my teammates and I, the next day still begins bright and early at 5AM in the weight room.  Definitely no time for late morning cuddle sessions.

Road to National Championship

Well it's cold up here at Cal and we lost against the two-time defending national champions by one race.  The Cal Bears were losing to us up until the final relay, the 400 Freestyle Relay.  On our side, we had Olympians Vlad Morozov and Dima Colupaev, Jack Wager, and Cristian Quintero.  We lost this race by 0.1 seconds...  That distance is one knuckle and a half down a finger and our victory was lost by that much.  We have team dinner in a little bit and sad faces are going to be everywhere.

"We are the best team in the country right now.  We are going to go up there and show them what being the best team really means." Our coaches told us before we boarded the plane to the Bay Area.  I wonder what they are going to say to us tonight about being the best team...  Regardless, we have to move on and realize we have another tough team tomorrow: Stanford.  Stanford, Cal, and us have always been tearing each other apart for number one.  Cal may have claimed their spot, but Stanford will not claim their place tomorrow.  

Tonight we don't have parties or invites to attend to, we have our hotel rooms and each other to get ready for a win tomorrow.  As we are trained to "Show up early, ready, start fast.  Finish what we start, make no excuses, tell the truth.  Always compete with speed and power.  Stand tall, big chest, big eyes. Protect the team at all times.  We are tough, aggressive, and trained. We are SC. FIGHT ON!"  Tomorrow is another day, a day where we come home with a W!

Important Weekend

It's a rather important weekend for us over at the aquatic department.  Our women's team has left for the Bay Area to show Cal and Stanford who the best NCAA Division 1 swim team in the country truly are.  This leaves the men's team here training and hitting the weight room every morning.  What else is going on this weekend? The Superbowl of course! Our Women of Troy are unable to relax and watch the game since they are on the road.  As an athlete at USC, we sacrifice our social lives in such a way to almost eliminate our social lives.  In a nutshell, our team is our social life, our family, our friends, our therapist, you name it.

On the women's team, we have multiple Olympians such as Stina Gardell, Haley Anderson, Christel Simms, and more.  They are not only the best of the best swimmers in the country, but they are the best of the best of the best representing multiple countries.  Haley won the silver medal in the London Olympics for the 10K open water swim.  However, what does that do to her social life?  Social life as an Olympian and a USC Athlete is more of a chore than a casual lifestyle.  Haley was forced to watch everything she said through social media about this weekend's meet up in the Bay Area.  Why?  Because she is considered to be a model citizen, student, and athlete.  That's only a glimpse of what really happens over at the pool and the John McKay Center.  Speaking of the McKay center, it's that time of the day again for Trojan Swimming Crossfit with Coach Kelly...Fight On!