University of Minnesota Athletics
Players Mentioned
Breaststroke/IM
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Butterfly
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Backstroke/Butterfly/Freestyle
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Under the Surface with Terry Ganley
5/20/2020 9:42:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving
It has been nearly three months since the Gophers wrapped up competition at the 2020 Big Ten Champions, but members of the Minnesota swimming & diving program have remained hard at work as they navigate through these unprecedented times. Over the past few months, the Gophers have communicated through a plethora of Zoom team meeting sessions and even virtually celebrated the graduation of the team's nine seniors.
As the calendar turns from the 2019-20 academic year to the summer, Gopher Sports sat down with senior associate head coach Terry Ganley to get the inside scoop on everything Gopher swim & dive. Having been a member of the Minnesota Athletics family for over 45 years, Ganley spoke to the uniqueness of the current situation while expressing optimism for the program's bright future.
Gopher Sports: How have recent team meetings been going and what has been the focus?
Ganley: "We've been checking in with them twice per week, really. Once per week we have a larger team meeting, which is more informational stuff, like our normal team meetings would be if we were in normal times. Really focusing on the academic side of it, making sure they're getting everything they need academically, first and foremost. And then again, just information on as much as we know each week, how we're progressing with return to play, return to campus. Another time during the week, we've broken the team up into small groups. We were meeting with a group of six-to-eight at a time, and those we've been sending out a question that they need to prepare to answer in the small group setting. The small group settings have really been good for the coaches, as well as the student-athletes. It's a time to get to know them on a level that in normal life, when we're all so busy, that you just don't have with them. I think they, too, have time right now to explore hobbies and things they really haven't had time to do. It's been interesting for the coaches. You learn that one of our athletes is a pretty gifted artist and somebody else plays a musical instrument. It's just interesting things for them that they have time to do that they really don't when they're a student-athlete in college."
GS: What have been some of your biggest takeaways from operating in this unique situation?
Ganley: "I've always considered it a privilege to coach at the University of Minnesota, so I've always held that value. Having it taken away, I think all of us, on return, are going to value it even more and not take it for granted. At the University of Minnesota, a Division I, top-15 program, it's the longest break from swimming that 99% of them have had. I'll be interested to see how that effects their performance. I do think, at times in our sport, we over-train and don't take breaks. I'll be interested to see what effect it has. A lot of them are doing so much more dry land activity right now, improving their athleticism in a little bit different of a way. Maybe their performance will be better, maybe it will be the same. It will be interesting to see the effect of so many of them pursuing other athletic activities outside of the pool. I think it can really enhance their performance in the pool. My guess is we're all going to return a little more appreciative of what we have and not take it for granted."
GS: What words do you have for this year's graduating class?
Ganley: "We're very lucky to work with such dedicated student-athletes. Swimming is a very tough sport and it's a lot of self-discipline. The graduates that we have were all excellent students, great leaders and just great people. For me, I've always valued working with the team and sport that I do, and the individuals that you get to know. They're all out there in the world right now. Tevyn Waddell, she went home to Mitchell and completed a certified nurse assistant (CNA) program and is working in a nursing home. [Lindsey Kozelsky] is tutoring online as an elementary education teacher. [Tuomas Pokkinen] went back home to Finland and is pursuing his military career. They're just great people out in the world. It's really a privilege to have worked with them."
GS: What levels of excitement and optimism do you have surrounding the future of Gopher Swim & Dive?
Ganley: "I think it's really exciting. Yesterday, we had two meetings: one with the incoming freshmen women and one with the incoming men. It's just a great, great group of young people. Very mature and they're finishing up their senior year of high school virtually, most of them. It's a really great mix of individuals, all very excited to get back. But their attitudes are good and they're excited to be here. If one positive comes out of it, we probably have gotten to know our incoming class better than ever before, and they've gotten to know each other. We have these Zoom meetings every couple of weeks with the incoming group, just letting them share and get to know the coaches, because it's something that normally would happen in September. You have phone conversations with them, E-mails, they visited [campus], but this is an hour where you sit down and get to know each other on a little different level. They're excited to be here and we're excited to have them come. Our returners are great, so I think it's going to be pretty exciting once we can all get back to normal."
GS: Over the course of the last calendar year, what are you most proud of?
Ganley: "We had a lot of adversity on both sides and the team's resilience from injuries, sicknesses and all the crazy stuff that happened with this team, their attitudes were great. The senior leadership we had was awesome and extremely mature. It's just a great, great group of people that came to work every day and performed at the Big Ten Championships. The disappointment for our NCAA team, I think they handled it very well. Extremely disappointing obviously for our seniors especially, and Lindsey and Tevyn were also headed to Olympic Trials, so to have a double whammy of their last NCAA meet cancelled and then Olympic Trials moved… they handled it extremely well and I think for them, moving forward, it's going to be a life experience that's really going to help them in the end, as difficult as it is in the present. I'm just very proud of this team's attitude. No matter what we've thrown at them, they've handled it very maturely and seen the big picture."
GS: You had several alumni join your team meetings the last month-plus of the year. To you, what is the importance of keeping alumni incorporated into the team culture?
Ganley: "One of the first ones we had was Susan Suomu, who is a teacher and educator. She continued to swim after college. She did relays in Lake Tahoe and also in Hawaii, so she's definitely followed our team. She's somebody that gives perspective, too. She's a second grade teacher and she was teaching 28 second graders on Zoom. I think her perspective to the team of just valuing the experience that they're having and the fact that with her, she's still in very close contact with six of her teammates. Just to emphasize how the friends that you make with Gopher Swimming & Diving are friends that you have for life. I think it's interesting, too, the six or eight of them that are still very close friends, they're from all parts of the United States and Canada, and the only thing they really had in common was Gopher Swimming & Diving. They just come from such different parts of the country, different backgrounds, but their friendship is just so strong and it's based on Gopher Athletics, and I think that's a good message to our team to really value those friendships they're making right now, because they are the friends they're going to have through life. Then, we had Jeff and Kelsey Hackler, who both swam on the team. Again, just the fact that we've had so many marriages of swimmers and divers that have met each other in swimming. I think the value that you're here to swim to be an athlete, but there's so many other life experiences that come from Gopher Athletics and carry you through life."
GS: Do you have any messages for the Gopher family before signing off?
Ganley: "I feel very confident in President Gabel and our Board of Regents. And Mark Coyle, I know is following President Gabel and the Board of Regents' recommendations, so I feel confident that we're in really good hands from a leadership perspective, which makes me feel proud. When you do watch the news, there's other states and universities that don't have the same leadership that we do. I'm proud of Minnesota and how we're doing and how we're handling it. I feel confident in our leaders, so that's a good thing."
As the calendar turns from the 2019-20 academic year to the summer, Gopher Sports sat down with senior associate head coach Terry Ganley to get the inside scoop on everything Gopher swim & dive. Having been a member of the Minnesota Athletics family for over 45 years, Ganley spoke to the uniqueness of the current situation while expressing optimism for the program's bright future.
Gopher Sports: How have recent team meetings been going and what has been the focus?
Ganley: "We've been checking in with them twice per week, really. Once per week we have a larger team meeting, which is more informational stuff, like our normal team meetings would be if we were in normal times. Really focusing on the academic side of it, making sure they're getting everything they need academically, first and foremost. And then again, just information on as much as we know each week, how we're progressing with return to play, return to campus. Another time during the week, we've broken the team up into small groups. We were meeting with a group of six-to-eight at a time, and those we've been sending out a question that they need to prepare to answer in the small group setting. The small group settings have really been good for the coaches, as well as the student-athletes. It's a time to get to know them on a level that in normal life, when we're all so busy, that you just don't have with them. I think they, too, have time right now to explore hobbies and things they really haven't had time to do. It's been interesting for the coaches. You learn that one of our athletes is a pretty gifted artist and somebody else plays a musical instrument. It's just interesting things for them that they have time to do that they really don't when they're a student-athlete in college."
GS: What have been some of your biggest takeaways from operating in this unique situation?
Ganley: "I've always considered it a privilege to coach at the University of Minnesota, so I've always held that value. Having it taken away, I think all of us, on return, are going to value it even more and not take it for granted. At the University of Minnesota, a Division I, top-15 program, it's the longest break from swimming that 99% of them have had. I'll be interested to see how that effects their performance. I do think, at times in our sport, we over-train and don't take breaks. I'll be interested to see what effect it has. A lot of them are doing so much more dry land activity right now, improving their athleticism in a little bit different of a way. Maybe their performance will be better, maybe it will be the same. It will be interesting to see the effect of so many of them pursuing other athletic activities outside of the pool. I think it can really enhance their performance in the pool. My guess is we're all going to return a little more appreciative of what we have and not take it for granted."
GS: What words do you have for this year's graduating class?
Ganley: "We're very lucky to work with such dedicated student-athletes. Swimming is a very tough sport and it's a lot of self-discipline. The graduates that we have were all excellent students, great leaders and just great people. For me, I've always valued working with the team and sport that I do, and the individuals that you get to know. They're all out there in the world right now. Tevyn Waddell, she went home to Mitchell and completed a certified nurse assistant (CNA) program and is working in a nursing home. [Lindsey Kozelsky] is tutoring online as an elementary education teacher. [Tuomas Pokkinen] went back home to Finland and is pursuing his military career. They're just great people out in the world. It's really a privilege to have worked with them."
GS: What levels of excitement and optimism do you have surrounding the future of Gopher Swim & Dive?
Ganley: "I think it's really exciting. Yesterday, we had two meetings: one with the incoming freshmen women and one with the incoming men. It's just a great, great group of young people. Very mature and they're finishing up their senior year of high school virtually, most of them. It's a really great mix of individuals, all very excited to get back. But their attitudes are good and they're excited to be here. If one positive comes out of it, we probably have gotten to know our incoming class better than ever before, and they've gotten to know each other. We have these Zoom meetings every couple of weeks with the incoming group, just letting them share and get to know the coaches, because it's something that normally would happen in September. You have phone conversations with them, E-mails, they visited [campus], but this is an hour where you sit down and get to know each other on a little different level. They're excited to be here and we're excited to have them come. Our returners are great, so I think it's going to be pretty exciting once we can all get back to normal."
GS: Over the course of the last calendar year, what are you most proud of?
Ganley: "We had a lot of adversity on both sides and the team's resilience from injuries, sicknesses and all the crazy stuff that happened with this team, their attitudes were great. The senior leadership we had was awesome and extremely mature. It's just a great, great group of people that came to work every day and performed at the Big Ten Championships. The disappointment for our NCAA team, I think they handled it very well. Extremely disappointing obviously for our seniors especially, and Lindsey and Tevyn were also headed to Olympic Trials, so to have a double whammy of their last NCAA meet cancelled and then Olympic Trials moved… they handled it extremely well and I think for them, moving forward, it's going to be a life experience that's really going to help them in the end, as difficult as it is in the present. I'm just very proud of this team's attitude. No matter what we've thrown at them, they've handled it very maturely and seen the big picture."
GS: You had several alumni join your team meetings the last month-plus of the year. To you, what is the importance of keeping alumni incorporated into the team culture?
Ganley: "One of the first ones we had was Susan Suomu, who is a teacher and educator. She continued to swim after college. She did relays in Lake Tahoe and also in Hawaii, so she's definitely followed our team. She's somebody that gives perspective, too. She's a second grade teacher and she was teaching 28 second graders on Zoom. I think her perspective to the team of just valuing the experience that they're having and the fact that with her, she's still in very close contact with six of her teammates. Just to emphasize how the friends that you make with Gopher Swimming & Diving are friends that you have for life. I think it's interesting, too, the six or eight of them that are still very close friends, they're from all parts of the United States and Canada, and the only thing they really had in common was Gopher Swimming & Diving. They just come from such different parts of the country, different backgrounds, but their friendship is just so strong and it's based on Gopher Athletics, and I think that's a good message to our team to really value those friendships they're making right now, because they are the friends they're going to have through life. Then, we had Jeff and Kelsey Hackler, who both swam on the team. Again, just the fact that we've had so many marriages of swimmers and divers that have met each other in swimming. I think the value that you're here to swim to be an athlete, but there's so many other life experiences that come from Gopher Athletics and carry you through life."
GS: Do you have any messages for the Gopher family before signing off?
Ganley: "I feel very confident in President Gabel and our Board of Regents. And Mark Coyle, I know is following President Gabel and the Board of Regents' recommendations, so I feel confident that we're in really good hands from a leadership perspective, which makes me feel proud. When you do watch the news, there's other states and universities that don't have the same leadership that we do. I'm proud of Minnesota and how we're doing and how we're handling it. I feel confident in our leaders, so that's a good thing."
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