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.