Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, September 29, 1995 TAG: 9509290023
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-14 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: CHAD WILLIS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
``Just a few more laps,'' Van Nostrand shouts as he paces poolside at Blacksburg Aquatic Center. ``Everybody keep pushing!''
Van Nostrand, in his first year as head coach of the Sunfish, admits that his involvement with team members, ranging in age from 5 to 13, has helped him keep in touch with his own youth.
``I love working with the kids,'' Van Nostrand said. ``It's a very gratifying experience. Working with them helps to keep me young. I learn as much from them as they learn from me.''
It works two ways.
``I like [Van Nostrand] a lot,'' said Ashley Cohen, a 16-year old team member and Blacksburg High student. ``He is very straightforward and tells you what you need to know.''
Van Nostrand has been a swimmer since high school, when he competed for a United States Swimming team in Bristol, Tenn.
After high school, Van Nostrand swam for four years at the University of Kentucky, competing in the 200-meter breaststroke and the 400-meter individual medley.
Coaching experience for Van Nostrand includes a stint as a volunteer at Brookside Aquatic Club during his senior year of college, a four-year term as coach of a USS team in Bristol and a short stretch coaching in New Jersey.
``I've always known that coaching swimming was something that I wanted to do,'' Van Nostrand said. ``The job in Bristol was originally supposed to be on a interim basis, and that one turned into a four-year deal.''
Van Nostrand landed the Sunfish job after meeting Bill Beecher, coach of the Radford/Pulaski swim team that combines with the Sunfish in the fall to form the Southwest Aquatic Team.
``I told Bill that I was originally from the area and was interested in moving my family back down to this part of the country,'' Van Nostrand said. ``I asked him to keep me in mind and let me know if he heard of any openings in the area.
``It wasn't long after that conversation that Bill called me and told me there was an opening for a coach in Blacksburg. So I checked into the job and was lucky enough to get it. I've been here a little over a month now, and I really like it.''
Van Nostrand said the situation as coach has been made even more enjoyable because of the parents' dedication - helping with transportation to meets, volunteering their time as officials and judges, and helping with concessions during meets at which the Sunfish are hosts.
``The parents are the backbone of the organization,'' Van Nostrand said. ``The things they do run the entire gamut. They support the kids at home and at practice. Without them, we wouldn't be successful.''
Van Nostrand said the team develops more than just the swimmers' abilities. More importantly, the discipline they learn through swimming carries over to life out of the pool.
``The time they spend in the pool helps them to budget their time as far as studies go,'' Van Nostrand said. ``The parents tell me that most of the kids are honor roll or A and B students. They are disciplined enough to be able to make practice, study and then still do all the things that kids their ages do.''
by CNB