Gold Swim Coach Inspires Erin Sattler to Compete in College Ranks

Chattahoochee Gold competitive swimmer Erin Sattler is excited to commit to swim and study at Hickory, North Carolina's Lenior-Rhyne University starting next fall. But her path to the select world of competitive college swimming wasn't always clear. "When I first started looking to swim [in college], I was really excited but got defeated when I didn’t hear back from the bigger schools I had my eyes on. I started drifting away from the mindset of swimming in college. Even though at the time Coach Mark [Walleshauser] wasn’t my [training group's] coach, I went to him and asked him why he decided to swim in college. His story really resonated with me. This is when I started having more hope in the college search. In the next couple months, and many more questions to Coach Mark, that’s when I committed. So, I really owe a big thank you to him! Coach Mark Walleshauser has been and still is one of the main reasons I committed to a college." For Walleshauser, the profound gratitude is mutual and he's emphatic in knowing that Erin will excel at the next level: "Erin is one of the most caring girls I have come to know. She brings me great ideas about how to keep everyone engaged in practice. She has a great way of bringing me back to center field when I drift off to right. She is a very diligent worker in practice and loves the hard work of a grueling distance set! I cannot wait to see what she has in store for a new team and her career past the pool!"

Until Erin heads to Lenior-Rhyne, she'll continue her swim training with the Chattahoochee Gold club team at the Cumming Aquatic Center. "Chattahoochee Gold is like a family. At meets, the coaches all give words of encouragement, at practice the people are there to support you, the coaches all care about their swimmers. I love how the coaches are willing to help their swimmers no matter what,whether it be coaching them one on one for the hope of getting faster or reluctantly answering a million questions after practice. Having this support makes you feel like you belong on the team and that you can do anything with them by your side." Erin says her fondest memory with Chattahoochee Gold came at a travel meet several years ago, "The first time I ever made a state cut [qualifying time] was at the Raleigh meet in 2021. The 1000 [Freestyle] was the first night and it was just me and two other boys from Gold swimming the race. We probably waited hours from warmup just to swim. I knew I could get the cut, but it would be close. On the last lap of the race, I actually looked up at the clock and saw there was 10 seconds till the cut and started sprinting. I think I made it by less than a second, but was so happy and Coach Pat [Murphy, Chattahoochee Gold team co-owner] was ecstatic too!"

Out of the hundreds of college swim teams nationwide, how did Erin land with Lenior-Rhyne? She responds, "If anyone knows about the college process, it is a hard one. I knew I wanted to go out of state, and I have grown up going to Lake Norman in North Carolina. So, I Google-searched what colleges are around that area and Lenoir-Rhyne popped up. While on my recruitment trip, I made sure to just take in my surroundings, ask tons of questions, smile and be appreciative that I was on campus. I definitely think that outwardly showing you care and are interested will make you stand out from the other recruits when the coaches make their decisions. With help from my mom researching about the college, we had a couple visits, and called it home for the next four years!"

Erin plans to major in Medical Studies with the goal of becoming a physician assistant or doctor.

Chattahoochee Gold is headquartered at the Woodstock Aquatic Center and also trains team members at Mountain View Aquatic Center in East Cobb and Cumming Aquatic Center in Forsyth County.