NOCTILUCA September 2016

SPORTS Appleton, Wisconsin September 2016 Volume XXll Issue I Page 11 Girls’ swim team hires new assistant coach By Maddie Clark

old and a 2 year old. My 2 year old was born with Down Syndrome, so she has a lot of physical therapy. This is the perfect amount of time where I don’t feel like I’m neglecting my kids, but I get to give 100 percent to one group for three months.” Zimmerman has many goals for the team this season as she makes her return as assistant coach. She plans on focusing on all the technical parts of swimming such as the underwater kicks, the streamlines, and the starts. Zimmerman also commented, “The JV team is already way stronger than when I first ever taught with Jamie here.”

Over the summer, the girls’ swim team had a change in coaching staff. Jonathon Karrels, the girls’ head coach, stepped down from his position. Because of this, Jamie Schnurer became the new head coach and the team was put to the task of finding a new assistant coach. One of the candidates was Ruthe Zimmerman, an old colleague of Jamie’s, who went on to get hired as the new assistant coach. Who is this Ruthe Zimmerman, and how did she become involved in swimming? Zimmerman started swimming when she was very young.Herparentsbothworked during the day and didn’t want to pay for a baby-sitter, so they sought out another alternative. Zimmerman’s mother paid for her to take swim lessons and have a pool pass for the day. Zimmerman comments on her life back then, “I literally lived at the pool all day.” When she was 8, she started swimming with the Wisconsin Dells Dolphins and never stopped. Growing up, tennis was my go-to sport. It was my main summertime activity, whether I participated in city tennis camps, or even just had friend- ly matches with my father. However, as I started my freshman year of high school, tennis wasn’t an activity that I wanted to join. There were so many other extracurriculars on my list, like debate, orchestra, and soccer, that I simply didn’t know how I would have time to fit tennis in to that busy schedule. It would take two years for me to realize how much I missed tennis, and that I would do the best I could to fit it back into my schedule. So the sum- mer after sophomore year, I restarted my adventures in tennis by taking lessons at the Fox Cities Racquet Club,with Coach Dan Oliver. As a year passed by, I dis- covered that tennis really doesn’t take up a whole lot of my time. Sure there are morning practices in the sum- mer, afternoon matches during the school year, lessons, and camps. However, at the end of the day, I’ve had so many tennis- related memories that I have absolutely no regrets about

She went on to swim two years at the University of Wisconsin- Green Bay and two years at the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee. Since then, Zimmerman has went on to coach for many different teams. She started coaching for the Wisconsin Dells Dolphins then at the University of Wisconsin- With all these goals, Zimmerman has already made a huge impact on the girls’ team. With the upcoming meet against Neenah in September, Zimmerman will finally be able to showcase how much she has helped the team. Even though she has to juggle family and work, she is still trying to memorize the names of everyone on the team. Player reflects on tennis’ positive, beneficial culture By Fatima Ali Coach Zimmerman teaches good technique to swimmers. Photo by Olivia Molter Milwaukee. She went on to coach at the YMCA and stayed long enough to watch the team change from the Marlins to the Fox Cities YMCASwimTeam. After the YMCA, Zimmerman started coaching for the Fox Valley Wave and is now the team’s administrator. This also isn’t the first time Zimmerman has coached at Appleton North. She coached with Jamie Schnurer a few years back. Zimmerman returned to Appleton North because of the fact that she and Schnurer get along so well and because of her two little girls. Zimmerman noted, “It’s the perfect season for me because it’s only three months. I have two little girls, a 4 year

committing to the sport of ten- nis. During the summer, I try to practice tennis regularly, whether it may be by taking weekly lessons with Coach Oliver, or participating in camps that allow me to meet other tennis players around the area. Furthermore, I try play- ing with my friends, many of whom are talented tennis play- ers themselves. Even though keeping up with their hitting is tough at times, it’s such a pleasure being able to enjoy the summer weather with my good friends while also learn- ing fancy ways to beat poten- tial opponents come tennis season. Meanwhile, participating on the Appleton North girls tennis team has helped me create nu- merous friendships with vari- ous peers these past two years, which actually is my favor- ite part of being on the team. From surviving aggressive feeds during tennis warm-ups, to surviving building runs with energetic people, there never is a boring tennis practice. At times, the sweltering heat may make many girls (includ- ing myself) want to give up from exhaustion; however, when watching all the sup- portive girls on the team and

beat me. Although I really enjoy win- ning, I have learned how to deal with my losses in a man- ner that hopefully doesn’t af- fect my future matches. Of course, being with the lovely girls on the team make match- es so much less stressful, since they are always so cheerful and loud, no matter if you are winning gracefully, or losing miserably. Lastly, it’s such a treat when my tennis player friends, Brennan Arnold and Sidney Hestres, can make it to one of my matches. Overall, picking up the sport of tennis, and being on the ten- nis team has been a decision that I do not regret at all. Ten- nis is a great way to make new friends, while also enjoying the warm weather and stay- ing in terrific shape. It is an activity I would recommend to anyone hoping to pick up a sport while being surrounded in a very comforting and non intimidating environment. Want to write a column about your involvement in a sport for the Noctiluca? Contact Madeline Clark at CLA542944@stu. aasd.k12.wi.us

The tennis team practicing before a meet. Photo courtesy of Adison Cole

receiving encouragement from coaches like Coach Joseph Soddy and Coach Scott Burt, everyone tries to find the joy of tennis and plows through the remainder of practice by taking sips of water and occa- sionally exchanging chuckles whenever someone happens to suffer a misstep. Challenge matches between team mem- bers often prove to be such a challenge since no one wants to kick off a fellow team mem- ber from their prized ranking, but at the end, there are usually no hard feelings. Although tennis practice

is such a vibrant place to be, one of my favorite days dur- ing tennis season are match days. Match day, for me, is my time to represent the team to the best of my abilities. Words cannot describe how I feel as I watch my opponents run from side to side, and eventually collapse, as I hit the balls cross court, in hopes of winning my matches as easily as possible. Moreover, the more matches I play, the more tips I can learn from watching my opponent, whether it is as simple as a certain way they stand, or in- tricate as tactic they use to