Coach of the Year has Andover Girls Swimming Toward Success

It’s been a challenging season for the Andover varsity girls swim team, in a good way.

The Barons have overcome some big obstacles this year to put themselves in position to have another successful season.

Replacing more than a dozen seniors, including four-time champion Jayme Groth, was the most immediate challenge head coach David Zulkiewski faced.

After coming off back-to-back top-15 finishes in the state finals, he went into the offseason at the end of last year knowing that 2011 would be a bit of a rebuilding year.

But he was hopeful his team could make it three in a row.

“We were 11th and ninth the last two years,” Zulkiewski said. “We graduated a huge class, we graduated 13, so we were looking at filling those shoes — and we have. We had 11 great kids who came in, a lot of freshman with swimming experience, that swim year-round.”

Making Adjustments

The spring brought about another challenge, one that was unexpected.

Since swimming went to three divisions in 2006, Andover has been in Division 3. The Barons' school population grew last year, and that bumped the swim program from Division 3 to Division 2.

“All the state cuts got harder,” Zulkiewski said.

Returning state qualifiers including sophomore Sarah Kilbride, junior Stephanie Fatouhi and junior Tegan Servo all faced qualifying times in Division 2 that were 1 to 4 seconds faster.

“In the spring, it was a little tough, some of the girls hemmed and hawed, but we knew it in May, and we’ve been making adjustments all year,” Zulkiewski said.

Kilbride qualified for the state finals in the 200 individual medley and the 100 breaststroke.

Fatouhi and Servo are working on qualifying as part of the Barons' relay teams. Zulkiewski said the girls’ times in the 400 freestyle and 200 medley relays are very close to making the cut.

With a couple of weeks left in the regular season, Kilbride is pushing her teammates at practice so they can join her in the state finals at the Holland Aquatics Center.

“It feels good to qualify, but I just want my other teammates to qualify with me as well,” Kilbride said.

A Coach's Influence

Kilbride’s team-first attitude is something Zulkiewski has stressed since he took over the program in 2000. It's one of the things he believes has helped the Barons maintain a high level of success.

“The cohesiveness of the kids gives us consistency,” Zulkiewski said. “I try to establish a team atmosphere. Every kid is important. I don’t care what lane you’re training in, every kid is important.”

He has the team go away for training camp every year for team bonding. This year, the teammates went up north to Roscommon for two days. The experience helped set the tone for the season.

“We are very good friends, and we encourage each other,” Kilbride said. “I think that’s a good atmosphere to strive to achieve your goals.”

Another way Zulkiewski has helped the girls stay successful is by keeping things fresh in practice. He is always looking for ways to change Andover’s training routines from year to year.

This season, the Barons are one of three high schools that signed up for the Avida University program through Avidasports.

During each practice, Andover swimmers wear five wireless microcomputers that measure six performance metrics. Zulkiewski gets that information in real time on his computer and can give instant feedback to his swimmers.

“They are helping me get faster,” Kilbride said. "I’ve been looking at things like my tempo and my breakout."

Zulkiewski’s coaching efforts earned him the Zone 2 Coach of the Year Award last season.

It was the second time he was recognized by the Michigan Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association. He won the award during his first season coaching the Andover varsity boys.

“Look at all the programs, like Groves and Seaholm, winning state championships,” Zulkiewski said. "They thought enough of what we were doing here to give me that award. It’s an honor."