Pronghorns Adamschek had great first season

Justin Seward
Times Reporter

 

Former Strathmore Silver Sharks Swim Club member Tamara Adamschek excelled in the pool in her rookie year with the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns swim team in that she was able make improvements in many aspects of her swimming abilities.
When she first arrived in Strathmore from Vancouver Island in Grade 7, the Silver Sharks would only train three days a week; but as the years when on it got more competitive and she said they did an excellent job of encouraging kids to swim.
“They always wanted to make sure you were having fun and were accomplishing the goals you wanted to,” said Adamschek. “They were really encouraging. There were about 10 of us that kept swimming together from Grade 7 to Grade 12 and it was close. We were really supportive of each other.”
She had the opportunity to compete in the Canada West Championships in Vancouver in November. The biggest adjustment for her was the team atmosphere because at this level it was about getting the best placing you can get while gaining team points, whereas with the Silver Sharks it was about the individual components in age group swimming.
“I think being my first year, I didn’t really know what to expect,” said the nursing student. “It was a lot of fun this year. I know in the past, I’d work myself up and I’d be like ‘I need to perform well.’ But the team is so good and very supportive and every time you swim you’re just swimming to get a good place. It doesn’t matter sometimes about what time you go, you want to beat the swimmers next to you.”
Adamschek had been swimming for 12 years and learned a lot about proper swimming techniques including finding ways to improve her stroke, while knocking time off one of her 50 meter races by two seconds from her Grade 12 year.
The veteran swimmers have taken Adamschek under their wing, setting a great example, while teaching her how to be calm during bigger meets.
Pronghorns coach Peter Schori, who is in his fourth year with the program, said with Adamschek coming in there was untapped potential and she did a good job with the Silver Sharks.
However, it was a big change in environment going from being one of the oldest swimmers to being the youngest.
“She made some technical improvements,” said Schori. “She got stronger and fitter. She changed her level of expectation of herself. The technical changes were just things she’s done every day in training where we asked her to change her strokes a little bit. Tamara has a good athletic build and we thought she had the capacity to get stronger.”
He added that it was a challenge for her being a nursing student because of having to commute across town to Lethbridge Community College and balancing practicums with the pool, but he expects her to have a better year next year and would like to see her in the Canada Interuniversity Sport Championships and maintain a spot on the top relay team.