Kirner creates a new swim legacy
Finishing his second season as head coach, Kurt Kirner and the swim team see improvement at all levels
Casey Cheney
Issue date: 2/26/09 Section: Sports
Head swim coach Kurt Kirner finished leading the Chargers through the GLIAC tournament meet, and is now training the first team to qualify for nationals in years. In fall 2007, he replaced coach Mary Anne Gerzanick-Liebowitz when she left the preceding summer.
The stark difference in personalities of these two coaches have led to inevitable changes in the swimming program, said senior and the team's only diver Charlotte Wolfe.
"The team was kind of looser my freshman year," she said. "The swimmer's we have now are more dedicated."
And, under Kirner's constant encouragement, she said her teammates are continually improving.
Freshman Ashleigh Belin, who knows Kirner as her only collegiate coach, said the atmosphere Kirner provides was exactly what she was looking for in a college swimming program.
Belin said she wanted to swim at a school where the competition was tough, a factor which Hillsdale's NCAA Division II status provides, and where her teammates' abilities were constantly challenging her to improve.
"I knew I was going to be challenged," she said. "I get that here, and I like it."
Both Wolfe and Belin noted Kirner's heavy emphasis on team unity.
"Coach really tries to emphasize that we're a family," Belin said.
Wolfe said the team seems more tightly knit than it was under Gerzanick-Liebowitz which she attributes to his frequent team meetings and "silly stories."
"I think he knows how important it is to be unified as a team," Wolfe said.
Charger swimming and diving did not graduate any seniors last year making this year's senior group tighter knit. Calling themselves "legends," they are one of the first large groups to make it all the was from freshmen to seniors on the team. In the past, many dropped out, Wolfe said.
Kirner acknowledged he approaches his position differently than did Gerzanick-Liebowitz.
"I have a much more laid back style," he said. "I put responsibility on the athletes themselves."
The stark difference in personalities of these two coaches have led to inevitable changes in the swimming program, said senior and the team's only diver Charlotte Wolfe.
"The team was kind of looser my freshman year," she said. "The swimmer's we have now are more dedicated."
And, under Kirner's constant encouragement, she said her teammates are continually improving.
Freshman Ashleigh Belin, who knows Kirner as her only collegiate coach, said the atmosphere Kirner provides was exactly what she was looking for in a college swimming program.
Belin said she wanted to swim at a school where the competition was tough, a factor which Hillsdale's NCAA Division II status provides, and where her teammates' abilities were constantly challenging her to improve.
"I knew I was going to be challenged," she said. "I get that here, and I like it."
Both Wolfe and Belin noted Kirner's heavy emphasis on team unity.
"Coach really tries to emphasize that we're a family," Belin said.
Wolfe said the team seems more tightly knit than it was under Gerzanick-Liebowitz which she attributes to his frequent team meetings and "silly stories."
"I think he knows how important it is to be unified as a team," Wolfe said.
Charger swimming and diving did not graduate any seniors last year making this year's senior group tighter knit. Calling themselves "legends," they are one of the first large groups to make it all the was from freshmen to seniors on the team. In the past, many dropped out, Wolfe said.
Kirner acknowledged he approaches his position differently than did Gerzanick-Liebowitz.
"I have a much more laid back style," he said. "I put responsibility on the athletes themselves."
Be the first to comment on this story