I’m a swim team manager during the B1G championships

The life of Division 1 scholarship swimmer, you ask?

Waking up at 5:00 a.m. all week. Spending hours a day at the pool. Smelling like chlorine all the time.

The life of a swim team manager?

Also, pretty much the same. Much of the challenge, with little of the glory.

Have you ever wondered what it is like to be a part of a Hawkeye athletic team? As swimming and diving manager, I get to experience sort of  being on the team. As part of my duties, I get to travel to meets including this weekend’s Men’s Big Ten Swimming and Diving Championships at Purdue. It’s a pretty sweet deal.

So, what is it like to manage a D1 team and travel to a championship like this?

The build up

Leading up to Big Tens, the team went on taper, which means they decreased the amount of training they did and replaced that with a lot of rest time. For managers and swimmers alike, this is the most glorious time of year.

Practices are shorter, everyone is in a good mood, and managers have free reign to play some absolute bangers at practice. Several swimmers often get confused about whether they’re at swim practice or Union.

My job title should really be Manager/Official DJ of the Iowa Swim and Dive team.

The travel

Tuesday we loaded up our charter bus and began the 5 1/2 hour trip to West Lafayette. No team trip is complete without a few rom-coms to pass the time. Yes, I assure you this was the mens team I traveled with.

I think we ALL can agree that John Tucker Must Die is a classic.

Our charter bus featured Iowa Hawkeye window banners so everyone who drove past us could see our black and gold pride.

As we rolled onto Purdue’s campus in West Lafayette, our pimped out ride turned the heads of several future aerospace engineers, most likely on their way to Intro to Rocket Propulsion class.

What can I say? We’re Hawkeyes, we ride in style.

The accommodation

One of the best things about team travel is staying in a hotel for a few nights. It’s a welcome break from dorm life. A room to myself with a king sized bed and fresh towels every day? Yes, please.

Plus, I don’t have to wear shoes in the shower, which feels oddly dangerous.

The food

Another perk of being a part of the team is the per-diem cards we are given. These bad boys are loaded with money for us when we travel, so we can basically eat where ever we please.

This card is my stomach’s best friend. And my bank account’s too.

When we aren’t on our own for meals, we get meals catered by the hotel. And there’s ALWAYS enough food because people known how hungry swimmers can get. We usually load up on grilled chicken, pasta, eggs, bacon, waffles, salads, fish, oatmeal (list really goes on and on).

Little do people know, I also have to carb up for the grueling hours I spend managing, so naturally my plate was piled just as high as the swimmers’.

The apparel

Best part about being an athlete: the free clothes. Best part about being a manager: 1/4th the amount of free clothes the swimmers get.

Each day the coaching staff and I sported a different Hawkeye polo and jacket that we got at the beginning of the year from Nike Christmas (an athlete’s term for when they get their free apparel).

Along with our fresh outfits, we had to wear our credentials wherever we went to get access to the pool deck, to the media booth, and to the coaches’ hospitality room.

Pretty damn official, I know.

The swimmers

Are you pretty impressed with your physique? Those three-a-week workouts paying off? Good for you.

But  if you ever need to bring down your self esteem a peg or two, come to a swim meet. Imagine being surrounded by men in ridiculous shape with washboard abs and pecs bigger than your head. Then imagine they can perform nearly impossible feats of athletic ability on top of that. I felt a need to drop and start doing push-ups just so I felt a little less like a marshmallow.

Walking around on deck with these guys, even as a former swimmer, makes you feel like the most average dude on the planet.

The atmosphere

If you think swim meets are boring, think again.

Aside from NCAA Championships and Olympic Trials, this is the loudest, most exciting meet I have ever been too. During finals, the crowd went nuts. And for good reason. At a top tier meet like this, often less than a second can separate a swimmer from 1st, 2nd, 3rd or even 4th. The most excitement came at the end of the finals sessions when the relays were going on.

Everyone was chanting and cheering until their lungs could hardly take it.

Part of a team 

While my athletic career ended in high school, I couldn’t help but feel that I was part of the team as they entered the final day of competition. The Hawks ended up in 7th overall, but damned if they weren’t number one in my heart. (We also watched cheesy sports movies on the bus.)

Getting the opportunity to travel with and be a part of this team is an experience unlike any other. I’ll have to remember that when I set my alarm for 5:00 a.m. next week.

@Jackmcnack96