For the first time since taking over the head coaching duties with the Laurentian Voyageurs varsity swim program, Phil Parker was recognized, this winter, as Coach of the Year.
"It's not why we get into it, as coaches, but it's nice to get recognized by your peers," said Parker. "I am certainly honoured, for sure."
Still, the ultra-friendly swim mentor will insist that the accolades are far more reflective of his swimmers than their coach.
"When you look at it, individually, everyone swam just as well as expected, if not a little bit faster," said Parker, reflecting upon the OUA championships that would see five of the L.U. athletes qualify for nationals.
"The women were the big surprise, battling for fourth, even though we have never been higher than sixth." In the end, the Laurentian women would settle for fifth place, just barely out-touched by the Guelph Gryphons, while the Voyageur men settled into sixth, the same overall aggregate finish that the locals would record.
Yet for as proud as he is of the likes of Carling Stever, Abby McDonald, Logan Tucker, Abby Howell and Samuel Boily-Dufour, all of whom competed at the U Sport meet in Victoria in late February, there is so much more to the grouping of 30-some swimmers who stepped on the blocks at provincials.
"To me, it's those kids who might not have expected to get a second swim and they into the "B" finals, the kid who is ranked ninth and they up making the move up to a top eight," said Parker. "For me, that's just as exciting as seeing someone hit the podium."
"They work really hard to try and get into that final and score points."
Perhaps almost as exciting is the fact that much of the excellence being seen in the Laurentian results, these days, lies within a group of younger swimmers, with both the men's and women's teams poised for progress in the years to come.
A butterfly specialist who hails from Beeton (Ontario), just outside of Newmarket, 18 year old Logan Tucker opted to follow in the footsteps of her friend and former teammate, Caitlin Sostar, as she enrolled in Health Promotions and Concurrent Education at Laurentian last fall.
"She (Sostar) always talked it up, and I vibed well when I came for my recruit trip," suggested Tucker. Still, the product of the Orangeville Otters swim club was not about to put a great deal of pressure upon herself as she adjusted to post-secondary life.
"I wanted to enjoy my first year, enjoy the team, enjoy the atmosphere," said Tucker. "I'm pretty happy with how I swam."
Somewhat anxious, initially, over the possibility of dealing with homesickness, the newcomer to the OUA would find refuge in a team setting that was notably different than the one she experienced with the Otters.
"The main thing that stood out to me, at the OUA Championships, was the team spirit, how every team dressed in their colours and cheered on every single swimmer," stated Tucker. "It makes you feel confident going in, knowing I had the whole team cheering me on."
It was an environment that Marymount Academy graduate Abby McDonald leveraged as she swam her way to bronze medal in the 100m butterfly at provincials, clocking a time of 1:02.00.
A known commodity within the Sudbury swim circuit for quite some time, having qualified for Age Group Nationals while still a pre-teen, McDonald had to overcome a grade 12 season that did not meet expectations, dealing with injuries and life in the years leading to her university debut.
"I ended up stopping my season early last year," she admitted. "I knew that I wasn't as fit as I should have been, coming into this year, so that was my main goal when I came in September. But when it's fun and you have your team there to support you, it's so much easier to swim fast."
McDonald, for one, is quick to credit coach Parker for a more than solid launch to her U Sport career. "I think Phil just genuinely wants you to love swimming," she explained. "For me, personally, that was such a big part of why I have been so successful this year."
"Swimming is full of peaks and valleys, but Phil does such a good job of making sure that, at the end, you are happy and excited to show up at the pool."
Of course, that atmosphere is far easier to build when the mindset that the coach enjoys provides the very foundation for his team.
"I love the school, I love the university, I love the program," said Parker. And for the 2019-2020 OUA season at least, the Laurentian University swim team and their coach were feeling a lot of love in return.
OUA Highlights: On an individual basis, the remaining podium performances came courtesy of Samuel Boily-Dufour, as the fourth year native of Sarnia captured silver in the 100m freestyle (50.23) and bronze in the 50m freestyle (23.06).
The Laurentian relay teams accounted for the two remaining shared medals as the men's quartet of Christopher Eastick, Ryan Sims, Gabriel Fenn and Samuel Boily-Dufour secure silver in the 4 X 50m freestyle event (1:33.77), while the Voyageurs' ladies team of Erika Savage, Francesca Zammit-Maempel, Ryllie Tryon and Natalie Lefebvre were just one spot back of that, touching the pad in third place in their 4 X 50m freestyle relay race (1:47.29).
Following are complete results from the U Sport nationals for the five Laurentian swimmers who attended:
Samuel Boily-Dufour50m butterfly - 25.92 (37th)
50m freestyle - 23.88 (38th)
* only swam two races due to illness
Abby McDonald
200m butterfly - 2:19.15 (16th); 2:22.93 (15th in final)
100m butterfly - 1:02.81 (21st); 1:03.47 (17th in final)
50m butterfly - 28.32 (18th); 28.61 (18th in final)
100m freestyle - 1:00.38 (50th)
Abby Howell
200m breaststroke - 2:41.79 (21st); 2:46.96 (22nd in final)
50m breaststroke - 33.72 (22nd); 35.35 (24th in final)
100m breaststroke - 1:13.56 (27th)
Carling Stever
400m individual medley - 5:01.49 (20th); 5:20.51 (24th in final)
200m breaststroke - 2:43.96 (27th)
200m individual medley - 2:29.50 (36th)
200m backstroke - 2:24.37 (39th)
Tucker, Howell, McDonald and Stever also teamed up for the 4 X 100m freestyle relay, placing 15th in a time of 4:09.42, but were disqualified in the 4 X 100m medley relay. As a team, the Laurentian women placed 22nd, recording a total of 45 points, 28 of which came courtesy of McDonald.
