University of Minnesota Athletics
Off the Blocks with Stacy Busack
7/8/2021 12:30:00 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving
MINNEAPOLIS - The Minnesota swimming & diving program's coaching staff will feature two bright, new faces this coming season, as Stacy Busack and Mike Joyce are both joining the Maroon and Gold ranks. With the hopes of better getting to know these two fresh additions to the squad, Gopher Sports sat down with each to discuss themselves, their hopes for the future of the Gophers and more.
Busack, a former associate head coach for Oakland University, is no stranger to the Maroon and Gold, having spent her entire collegiate career and several seasons as a volunteer coach with the Gophers from 2005-2013. Now, nearly eight years after her last stint as a member of the Minnesota program, the five-time Gopher record holder is back to help the Gophers reach the heights she knows they can.
"I know that we want to get back to vying for Big Ten Championships again for both of our teams," said Busack, "and I'm really excited about pushing both programs to be contending for top-10 at NCAAs consistently. I think that is a great, measurable goal to shoot for. I would also really love to see my name wiped off of that record board. It's time, and that would be an incredible thing to be a part of on the women's side. I'm just really excited to see what we can help these student-athletes achieve."
Busack's journey back to the University of Minnesota, however, started much sooner than her first time hitting the water as a Gopher. Rather, it began 177 miles northwest of campus in the small Minnesota town of Fergus Falls, when her mother Julie signed her and her older brother up for the local summer club team.
"My mom actually got all of us kids started in swimming," said Busack. "Neither her nor my dad knew anything about the sport, but my mom put us in because she recognized that all three of us kids loved being in the water. She signed my brother and I up first when I was around six years old, and I absolutely loved it. I started with our summer club team, and because we didn't really have an opportunity to train year round, that was all I could do until I could swim for the high school in seventh grade."
As she was then able to train from June to November with her high school team, Busack continued to improve and grow, getting increasingly more serious about the sport as she aged.
"I started to love the process of training and seeing that process pay off at the end of the season," Busack said. "So, I started putting more into it and thinking about what I could do in the off-season. A lot of swimmers tend to swim year round in our sport, so to stay in the water in my six-eight month off-season, I joined synchronized swimming to keep my feel for the water. We didn't compete, we just splashed around for a few months and then put on a show for the community at the end of the season, but it accomplished what I wanted. It gave me an opportunity to stay in the water."
Of all the work Busack put into herself over those six years of high school swimming, the most pivotal moment came for her in the summer before her junior year when she attended her first University of Minnesota swim camp. The following season, Busack saw massive time drops in all of her events, a phenomenon which she largely credits to the growth she experienced while at the camp.
"I think a pretty pivotal moment in my journey was when I came to swim camps at the University of Minnesota in the summer before my junior year," said Busack. "That junior season, I really dropped a ton of time. I credit a big part of that to that camp and being able to train with a bunch of people from all different areas.
"I was put in one of the faster lanes, which I didn't feel ready for, but I was with people who pushed me. We had some strong swimmers on my club team, but I was really able to see another level at the 'U'. I think that really put a little bit more fire in my belly and opened my eyes a little bit wider to the possibilities."
Busack attended the same camp before her senior year of high school as well, eventually taking a number of recruiting visits to campus before choosing Minneapolis as where she'd pursue her collegiate dreams. Looking back on the decision now, Busack believes it was never really a choice at all.
"I think, although I probably didn't recognize it at the time," Busack said, "I was always going to Minnesota. I went through the whole recruiting process and I took three or four trips in the end, but I ultimately chose the 'U' and it continues to be one of the best decisions of my life."
What followed was one of the most decorated collegiate careers in Gophers history, where Busack amassed a total of 14 Minnesota program records, 13 All-American honors, four individual Big Ten titles, along with helping the Maroon and Gold clinch their third women's Big Ten Championships team title in 2008 and earning a spot in the Minnesota Aquatics Hall of Fame in 2015. None of the success would have been possible without the knowledge and guidance of her coaches, Kelly Kremer and Terry Ganley.
"I was just surviving for the first few months at the 'U'," said Busack. "I couldn't make the kicking intervals or swimming intervals on some of the sets. Thankfully, my primary coach [Ganley] was incredibly nurturing, and I think both her and [Kremer's] focus on development was key for me. Coming in, I was someone that easily could've never made the travel team for Minnesota, but through their teaching and my drive, we were able to do something pretty special."
After just a week on the team, Busack knew coaching was the route she wanted to take once her athletic career had come to a close.
"I think within the first week my mind had been made up," said Busack. "I got to the 'U', looked at my coaches and I realized that this was something they do full time. I had thought before about becoming a high school teacher so I would be able to coach and I knew I would like teaching, but I just realized that I would rather do coaching full time. So, I sat down with [Ganley] and [Kremer] within my first semester, told them my plan and asked that they hold the volunteer coaching position for me once I was done with my eligibility."
After her second four-year stint with the Gophers, Busack then moved on to spend three years with the University of Pittsburgh before taking her position as an associate head coach with Oakland University. That was, until Kremer called offering her to apply for her current position with the Maroon and Gold.
"I was actually feeling pretty settled in Michigan until [Kremer] called," said Busack, "and told me they had an open position and that he wanted me to apply. I think I'm still processing that. It just blew my mind to have one of my former coaches and my alma mater call me up and say these words that were just a dream for me to hear. So, I talked with my husband about it, he was super supportive, and now I'm here at my dream job. When I think about it, I just come back to this overwhelming feeling of gratitude, and I'm just really excited to get started."
Off the pool deck, Busack and her husband Dave have too many hobbies to count, her favorite of which is dancing.
"I love dancing, we both really love dancing. West Coast Swing is definitely my favorite, and Dave's is Argentine Tango. We actually met through a dancing class when I was coaching at Pittsburgh, so that's pretty special for us. I also love pottery and woodworking as well, those are a couple things I've gotten into over the past few years as well."
Busack, a former associate head coach for Oakland University, is no stranger to the Maroon and Gold, having spent her entire collegiate career and several seasons as a volunteer coach with the Gophers from 2005-2013. Now, nearly eight years after her last stint as a member of the Minnesota program, the five-time Gopher record holder is back to help the Gophers reach the heights she knows they can.
"I know that we want to get back to vying for Big Ten Championships again for both of our teams," said Busack, "and I'm really excited about pushing both programs to be contending for top-10 at NCAAs consistently. I think that is a great, measurable goal to shoot for. I would also really love to see my name wiped off of that record board. It's time, and that would be an incredible thing to be a part of on the women's side. I'm just really excited to see what we can help these student-athletes achieve."
Busack's journey back to the University of Minnesota, however, started much sooner than her first time hitting the water as a Gopher. Rather, it began 177 miles northwest of campus in the small Minnesota town of Fergus Falls, when her mother Julie signed her and her older brother up for the local summer club team.
"My mom actually got all of us kids started in swimming," said Busack. "Neither her nor my dad knew anything about the sport, but my mom put us in because she recognized that all three of us kids loved being in the water. She signed my brother and I up first when I was around six years old, and I absolutely loved it. I started with our summer club team, and because we didn't really have an opportunity to train year round, that was all I could do until I could swim for the high school in seventh grade."
As she was then able to train from June to November with her high school team, Busack continued to improve and grow, getting increasingly more serious about the sport as she aged.
"I started to love the process of training and seeing that process pay off at the end of the season," Busack said. "So, I started putting more into it and thinking about what I could do in the off-season. A lot of swimmers tend to swim year round in our sport, so to stay in the water in my six-eight month off-season, I joined synchronized swimming to keep my feel for the water. We didn't compete, we just splashed around for a few months and then put on a show for the community at the end of the season, but it accomplished what I wanted. It gave me an opportunity to stay in the water."
Of all the work Busack put into herself over those six years of high school swimming, the most pivotal moment came for her in the summer before her junior year when she attended her first University of Minnesota swim camp. The following season, Busack saw massive time drops in all of her events, a phenomenon which she largely credits to the growth she experienced while at the camp.
"I think a pretty pivotal moment in my journey was when I came to swim camps at the University of Minnesota in the summer before my junior year," said Busack. "That junior season, I really dropped a ton of time. I credit a big part of that to that camp and being able to train with a bunch of people from all different areas.
"I was put in one of the faster lanes, which I didn't feel ready for, but I was with people who pushed me. We had some strong swimmers on my club team, but I was really able to see another level at the 'U'. I think that really put a little bit more fire in my belly and opened my eyes a little bit wider to the possibilities."
Busack attended the same camp before her senior year of high school as well, eventually taking a number of recruiting visits to campus before choosing Minneapolis as where she'd pursue her collegiate dreams. Looking back on the decision now, Busack believes it was never really a choice at all.
"I think, although I probably didn't recognize it at the time," Busack said, "I was always going to Minnesota. I went through the whole recruiting process and I took three or four trips in the end, but I ultimately chose the 'U' and it continues to be one of the best decisions of my life."
What followed was one of the most decorated collegiate careers in Gophers history, where Busack amassed a total of 14 Minnesota program records, 13 All-American honors, four individual Big Ten titles, along with helping the Maroon and Gold clinch their third women's Big Ten Championships team title in 2008 and earning a spot in the Minnesota Aquatics Hall of Fame in 2015. None of the success would have been possible without the knowledge and guidance of her coaches, Kelly Kremer and Terry Ganley.
"I was just surviving for the first few months at the 'U'," said Busack. "I couldn't make the kicking intervals or swimming intervals on some of the sets. Thankfully, my primary coach [Ganley] was incredibly nurturing, and I think both her and [Kremer's] focus on development was key for me. Coming in, I was someone that easily could've never made the travel team for Minnesota, but through their teaching and my drive, we were able to do something pretty special."
After just a week on the team, Busack knew coaching was the route she wanted to take once her athletic career had come to a close.
"I think within the first week my mind had been made up," said Busack. "I got to the 'U', looked at my coaches and I realized that this was something they do full time. I had thought before about becoming a high school teacher so I would be able to coach and I knew I would like teaching, but I just realized that I would rather do coaching full time. So, I sat down with [Ganley] and [Kremer] within my first semester, told them my plan and asked that they hold the volunteer coaching position for me once I was done with my eligibility."
After her second four-year stint with the Gophers, Busack then moved on to spend three years with the University of Pittsburgh before taking her position as an associate head coach with Oakland University. That was, until Kremer called offering her to apply for her current position with the Maroon and Gold.
"I was actually feeling pretty settled in Michigan until [Kremer] called," said Busack, "and told me they had an open position and that he wanted me to apply. I think I'm still processing that. It just blew my mind to have one of my former coaches and my alma mater call me up and say these words that were just a dream for me to hear. So, I talked with my husband about it, he was super supportive, and now I'm here at my dream job. When I think about it, I just come back to this overwhelming feeling of gratitude, and I'm just really excited to get started."
Off the pool deck, Busack and her husband Dave have too many hobbies to count, her favorite of which is dancing.
"I love dancing, we both really love dancing. West Coast Swing is definitely my favorite, and Dave's is Argentine Tango. We actually met through a dancing class when I was coaching at Pittsburgh, so that's pretty special for us. I also love pottery and woodworking as well, those are a couple things I've gotten into over the past few years as well."
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