SHOOTING THE BREEZE: A Q&A with USD swimmer Sarah Geerdes

SAN DIEGO — Sarah Geerdes' college swimming career is winding
down. The University of San Diego senior has just the West Coast
Conference championships (Feb. 15-18) left on the agenda. The
Valley Center native, who trained with the Escondido Swim Club, has
ranked among USD's best for years, and has one last chance to earn
some hardware. Geerdes is looking forward to this last hurrah,
before she graduates, marries her fiance and fosters a photography
career. Geerdes is excited about the present and her bright future,
and took some time this week to discuss her swimming career, being
home-schooled as a child and her prowess at a certain dance video
game.

Question: Has it sunk in yet that you're just a few
weeks away from completing your college swimming
career?

Answer:
In some ways yes. I definitely feel the
pressure associated with the final step, because all of my training
has led to this point. It gives me a nervous excitement, but I feel
that I'm ready to go and see what happens. At the same time, I'm
ready to take a break from the pool and focus on graduating.

Q: You were home-schooled. Was the decision made to
maximize your training time?

A:
Actually it wasn't. Swimming came out of the
flexible scheduling of home-schooling. I was home-schooled
beginning in the first grade but I didn't start swimming
competitively until I was 9 or 10. It was an advantage because I
could train more heavily and go to travel meets with greater
ease.

Q: Where there athletic benefits to the
arrangement?

A:
Definitely. When most of my friends went to
morning practice and had to go right to school, I was able to go
home and take a nap. And, it was obviously easier to make up school
work.

Q: Were there any drawbacks to the
experience?

A: There weren't many girls my age on the swim team at my level,
so I didn't have as much of a team camaraderie as I found in
college. I really enjoyed adding that team aspect of the sport.

Q: Why USD?

A:
I wanted to stay close to home — at least in
California — and I happened to perform really well at a meet (head
coach Mike Keeler) was at. He showed some interest, and when I did
some research I thought it was a perfect fit. He offered me a
full-ride scholarship the next time I saw him and I committed on my
official recruiting trip. It was one of the best choices I've ever
made.

Q: What's the heaviest amount of training you've
done?

A:
The 20 hours per week I do at USD. My club
coach was of the opinion that kids should train hard but not be
overworked. I think that kept burnout away and allowed me to peak
in college.

Q: I hear you're really good at "Dance, Dance
Revolution." Is that accurate?

A:
It is. I would take breaks from swimming and
play that game on our (PlayStation 2) quite a bit. I lived out
there in Valley Center without many friends close by, so I'd play
for hours every day. I played a lot of video games, but at least I
stayed in shape.