End of the Lane for Elk Grove Swimmer

Nicole Grottkau’s record-setting performance was bittersweet.

Grottkau, 19, swam her final event for the Elk Grove Piranhas at the Meet of Champions in Roseville last weekend.  The former student, who is leaving the team as she outgrows the 15-18 age bracket, set five team records while helping the Piranhas win the meet.

But even her splashy finale couldn’t keep Grottkau, this week’s Elk Grove Athlete of the Week, from thinking about the things she will miss.

“I’ll miss the memories,” Grottkau said.  “And everyone who made me who I am today.  All that learning—I’ll just miss everything.”

Grottkau’s departure from the Piranhas means the former Eagle will now focus on collegiate swimming events.  This fall, she starts her second year at American River College in Sacramento, where she helped the Beavers finish fourth last season at the California Community College Athletic Association Swim and Dive Championships in April.  The Elk Grove teenager was also named an All-American in three individual events, including the 50 butterfly, in which she finished 8th.

But Grottkau’s most important legacy is with the Piranhas, where she made a lasting impression as an athlete and also as a coach.  Head coach Brenda Smart raved about the teenager’s impact on other swimmers, especially the younger members on the team.

“She’s very motivated and driven,” said Smart.  “She comes up with some creative ideas and ways to motivate the kids.”

Elk Grove Patch caught up with Grottkau the day after she swam at the Meet of Champions.  We asked her about her favorite swimming stroke, her hobbies out of the pool and also her future plans.

You just finished swimming for the Piranhas and now just started your first year of playing water polo.  What first got you interested in water sports?

My parents have always swam, so I learned when I was about four.  It was always so exciting.

You also competed in cross country at Pleasant Grove.  What’s better–competing in water or on dry land?

I’d have to say water because cross-country is hard!  I started it in high school, but swimming I’ve been doing that all my life, so it’s more natural.

What’s your favorite swimming event?

I like all strokes equally, but butterfly is kind of fun. It’s hard. When I was young, I didn’t like it, but I made myself like it. I feel the way to get better at a stroke is you have to attempt to like it, or even force yourself to like it. Once you like it, you find a whole new way to look at it. You find your style and you can tweak little things.

Swimming meets can be very draining events.  Events sometimes only take minutes, but athletes sometimes wait hours in between their heats.  How do you pass the time between events?

Say you have 30 minutes in between events.  If you have a pool to warm down in, you go warm down: that takes sometimes 10 to 15 minutes.  On top of that, you want to be rested for your next race, so you have to take in some water, some sugars, some food if you need it, and protein in the middle of the day.  It can go by really fast.

What’s your favorite thing to do after a meet to unwind?

I usually sit on the couch and go on my computer.  Probably watch some TV and hang out with my boyfriend.

Do you have a favorite post-match meal?

Definitely spaghetti. That’s my favorite food.

What goes through your mind before a race?

If I’m thinking about a song before a race, it’s probably a hard rock song like Eye of the Tiger or Let the Bodies Hit the Floor.  I think about what I’ve got to do.  If you see me right before a race, I’m clapping my hands together and getting all excited.

Do you have any hobbies that you enjoy when you’re not swimming?

I like to sing and also like to read.  I like to cook every now and then.

What do you like to cook?

A while back ago, my thing was stir fry.  Now, I really like to bake things.  I’ve really been meaning to make stuff from scratch.  I used to take a Japanese class and made a couple of things from scratch in that class.

So do you speak Japanese?

I took two years of Japanese and I haven’t taken it for a year.  Once you take a language, you can get out of practice.  I haven’t been practicing them, so I don’t know all the words, but I know some songs in Japanese.

You have one more year left at ARC.  Do you have plans to swim anywhere after 2012?

I’d absolutely love to make it to a Division I school.  I’m looking to get a scholarship, hopefully.