Deep Dive with Evan Yoder

Going into his final season as a Minnesota Gopher, senior breaststroke specialist Evan Yoder has his eyes set on getting back into the pool with his teammates.

The two-time Academic All-Big Ten swimmer is coming off of his most successful season to date, finishing top-five on nine separate occasions throughout the last season. Looking ahead to his final season, Yoder sat down and spoke with Gopher Sports to talk about his roles in the upcoming season, his teammates, and much more.

GopherSports: How have you been keeping busy over this break?
Yoder: "After school concluded, I started working out more. I had access to some weights here and there, so I've just been mostly lifting weights and biking. I've really started to get into biking actually. It's fun to go on bike rides with my family here and there, and it's also just nice to get outside. With the pool, you're always stuck inside, so it's a nice change of scenery to get out biking and see some different places you don't normally get to see. I was able to get back into the pool last week which has been a bit of a transition, but it's going well."

GS: Have you picked up any new hobbies?
Yoder: "Not particularly. I did go to Colorado last week with some of my friends from high school, and we did some hiking, which was a good break from my normal routine. Other than that, I haven't really picked up any new hobbies per say, but I've definitely had a lot more time just for myself. I've been playing a lot more basketball with my little brother, which is fun. I'm not that good, but it's fun. I've just had a lot more time to relax and just do the things I like to do."

GS: If you had one piece of advice you could give to the incoming freshmen, what would it be?
Yoder: "One piece of advice I'd say is don't try to do too much, too fast. The biggest thing is to come in to improve, rather than to prove something. I think the more you can come in with the mindset to just improve your own stroke and what you're doing, instead of trying to prove to everyone else what you're capable of, the better. If you just work on improving, everything else is going to follow. I think recognizing where you're at, what it's going to take to get you where you want to be, and not worrying what others think about you is the most important. Just focus in on improving. I think that will benefit you greatly for the next four years."

GS: How would you assess your 2019-20 season and what are your biggest takeaways?
Yoder: "I think last season went great, although there were still some things I need to improve. I would've liked to have done a little better at the end of the year. Actually, I think it's kind of unique to take basically three months away from swimming because it lets you reflect on it. When you're in the season, there's not a whole lot of chance for reflection, and just being able to do something different really gives you perspective on the things you can do differently and different ways to approach things. It gives you a chance to experiment with your training also. My training was pretty much solely based on weight training and a little bit of biking, and I'm excited to see how that's going to work out. I've always subscribed to the idea that you aren't going to get any better doing the same thing. I just looked at it like a positive, that I get a chance to do some different things with my training. I think it's going to be great going into this year. I'm really excited for it."

GS: Are there any specific areas of your swimming you're working on improving for the next season?
Yoder: "What I'm really going to try and focus on in my breaststroke is getting in and out of the walls faster, and I think my strength training is going to help with that. I think my pull outs were one of the areas I really needed to work on last year. That, and my front end speed. Just being able to get out really fast and add speed to my stroke I think is really going to benefit me. Front end speed is always just something I've lacked. If I can nail that down, I think this year is going to be a lot better."

GS: Who is a teammate that really impressed you this past season?
Yoder: "There are two: Isaac Barrera and Tom Donker. Both of those guys had injuries over the course of the year that held them back from achieving what they wanted, but both of them stayed really positive, had really good outlooks on the season and they didn't get down on themselves too much. I think both of them are poised for really great seasons this year, with how hard they work and all that they've done to battle past it. After Isaac's injury, I didn't hear him complain about it once. That's just the way he is. I think he's going to have a really great year this year."

GS: Can you talk to the role Tom played last season with his injury?
Yoder: "He was really bummed that he couldn't be in the pool and contributing that way, but I think he really stepped up in a way that he could still be an influence outside of the pool. He was still be a positive influence on the team no matter where he was coming from, and I think that speaks volumes about his character. He can really contribute in many more ways than just being a point-scorer or a leader in practice. He's a leader outside of the pool as well."

GS: What comes after school for you?
Yoder: "After school, I'm really looking to work in economic data analysis. I'm majoring in Applied Economics and minoring in Statistics. My big focus is interpreting economic data, and that's really what I want to work in coming out of school. Analyzing economic trends and seeing if there's any way to improve the current condition of economics."

GS: Being a specialist in the breaststroke, you must spend quite a bit of time with fellow breaststrokers Eitan Yudashkin and Max McHugh. Is there any special relationship between your group that you may not have with some of your other teammates?
Yoder: "Yeah, for sure. It definitely helps having a solid group of breaststrokers around you, and I feel like I learn from them everyday. When you have a great group of guys together like that, it's a really a positive environment in a way that everyone is there to improve. No one thinks they have it all figured out yet, so we're all just there to improve and push each other to the next level. Whether we're racing or whatever it is in practice, we're always just pushing each other and making each other better."

GS: What was your reasoning for coming to Minnesota originally?
Yoder: "Academically and athletically, I didn't think there was a better option. When I first got recruited, I never imagined I'd go there, just because it's such a big school and it was a bit out of my comfort zone. As soon as I stepped on campus though and I was welcomed by the team, I just couldn't turn it down. It was just too good of an opportunity to not come. I felt welcomed from the first moment I stepped on campus, and that's something I've tried to do as well for potential recruits. I want them to feel just as welcomed as I did on my recruiting trip, and I want them to have that same environment. I want to carry that forward."

GS: Do you have a favorite part of being a Minnesota Gopher?
Yoder: "There are so many, it's hard to choose. I would say my favorite part is going on dual meets with my team. I think dual meets are unlike anything in the collegiate sports. You're just going there to compete, give it your all, and do anything you can to win. I really love dual meets. Just traveling with the team, and making memories as we go."

GS: Is there any specific dual meet that sticks out to you?
Yoder: "This past year, one of my favorite dual meets was Florida State. We ran into some weather on the way back, so we had to fly in, compete that night, and then fly out really early in the morning the next day. It was a hard trip, just from a standpoint of how much traveling we did over the course of 36 hours, but I really thought it just brought our whole team closer together. If we could handle something as awful as those conditions, I knew it was just going to prepare us that much more for when conditions were right. When we feel good in the water, nothing can hold us back."

GS: How did you see the team's strength shine through last season, while battling through so much adversity?
Yoder: "Honestly, it just made us that much more motivated for this year. We were going through the year, and it just felt like we couldn't catch a break, especially after what happened to Tom. I think it brought us together as a team, and taught us that if this is the way things are, then nothing's going to hold us back when we're at 100 percent. We were just that much more ready for the next "bad" thing to happen, and we were just so much more prepared for adversity in that sense. It didn't finish the way we wanted last year, and I think it just made us that much more motivated for this year. We're so ready to be back in the pool and training together, and we're just ready to get back to goal setting and competition. We have a lot to prove this year."

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Players Mentioned

Isaac Barrera

Tom Donker

Max McHugh

Evan Yoder

Eitan Yudashkin