THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 25, 1994 TAG: 9409230273
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 24 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Sports
SOURCE: BY DAN COOLEY, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 84 lines
IT'S A HECTIC schedule for a 14-year-old, but Suffolk's Katie Vansickle knows that it is a pace she has to have to be a top-notch swimmer.
The daily grind starts at 6:30 a.m., so she can get ready for school, eat breakfast and pack her own lunch. At 8 o'clock, her father, Bruce, drives her to Nansemond-Suffolk Academy for classes that begin at 8:15.
School ends at 3 p.m., but Vansickle stays and studies until 4:15 when her mother, Liz, can leave work and pick her up. From there, the schedule becomes even more intense.
Once home, Vansickle has 30 minutes to eat dinner and get ready for swim practice at the Old Dominion Aquatic Club (ODAC) in Norfolk, a 45-minute drive. She arrives home about 8:30 and hits the books for another hour or hour-and-a- half before bedtime.
The weekends are for recuperating although she still has a two-hour swim practice on Saturday. Sunday is literally a day of rest.
``During the week, I basically just study and sleep,'' said Vansickle. ``But I know in the long run that the hectic schedule will pay off.''
And it has already started to pay off. During the summer, in just her third year of competitive swimming, she qualified for the state Junior Olympics for the first time in three events - the 100 and 200-meter breaststroke and the 200-meter freestyle.
Her quick success in such a short time indicates Vansickle probably has a very bright future ahead. Steve Bialorucki, her ODAC coach, says she has the tools to be very successful.
He commented on her 5-7 height and her very strong work ethic.
``She has long arms, which gives her an advantage,'' said Bialorucki. ``She has long legs and big feet, which gives swimmers better leverage.
``And she is outgoing with her teammates, which is a plus. Also, her consistency on training is a big plus. She trains on a regular basis and puts forth the effort.''
Vansickle puts forth so much effort in training during the summer that she was one of only a handful of swimmers who often went to both morning and evening ODAC practice sessions although only one was required.
As if that weren't enough, she also swam for the Suffolk Swordfish Club this past summer. And beginning in November, she plans to swim for N-SA.
``Being on a team helps me discipline myself better,'' said Vansickle. ``I've had to organize a schedule, and it's helped me to study and think better.''
Her parents are budgeting their time and money for her also.
``We have to budget our money closely and driving her to practices and meets takes a lot of time,'' said her mother. ``But if she's willing to make the time sacrifices to swim, we are, too.''
While Vansickle is fitting in all the time she can to put her swimming skills to work, Bialorucki is putting his coaching skills to work to help her improve.
``Right now, she lacks some overall strength in and out of the water,'' he said. ``Plus, she's a little more specialized in the breaststroke and middle distance events than we would like. We want her to become an all-around swimmer.''
Bialorucki explained that as an all-around swimmer, Vansickle can enter more events and increase her chances of gaining a college scholarship. Well-rounded swimmers help college teams win those all-important dual meets, according to the coach.
To enhance her swimming skills, Vansickle has worked on the difficult dry land exercises. These consist of using medicine balls for upper body strength, running and kicking exercises.
Vansickle admits that Bialorucki's practices and exercises are extremely hard, but they are easier to deal with when she looks to the future.
``He's a great coach and I love him to death,'' said Vansickle. ``He demands more, but it's to help us reach our goals and that's what we want.
``My goal is I would like to get a full college scholarship and one day go to the Olympics.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by GARY C. KNAPP
Katie Vansickle, 14, a member of the Old Dominion Aquatic Club,
qualified last summer for the state Junior Olympics.
KEYWORDS: PROFILE
by CNB