Q&A with UM Swimmer Christine Williams

Jan. 10, 2003

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – – In the last two years, UM swimmer Christine Williams has emerged as one of the Hurricanes’ top points getters in meets.

A transfer from rival program Florida State, Williams has anchored four for of the Hurricanes’ five record-setting relay teams and was selected for All-American Honorable Mention status last season.

Recently, the Hurricanes standout sat down with UM Sports Information for a Q&A session.

How did you first get become interested in swimming?

A friend of mine in fifth grade was on the swim team and she gave me this form for a clinic that the swim team was running just to learn how to swim and stuff like that and I was like ‘This might be fun.’ So I went to the clinic and (the instructors) said that I was pretty good and asked if would like to join the team and I said yes.

Swimming is a different kind of sport, what did you find most appealing about it?

I guess the closeness of the team. It was the way that you meet people and travel a lot to different meets. Everyone else on the team said that it was a lot of fun so I thought that I might as well do it. When I was little, I had to do like a million and one activities so this was just an addition.

How did you first discover that you had a particular talent for swimming?

I swam with an age-group team for a year and then we had a break until the summer time, it was about a month break. Along with my father I trained during the break so that I wouldn’t be out of shape for the season. During the next season they saw how good I was and they invited me to join the seniors team.

And then you simply continued at the scholastic level?

I trained with my club team most of the time and with my high school I really didn’t train with them that much because I was fortunate in that my high school coach understood how club swimming works and he would let me do the club swimming in place of practices. I only needed to be at the high school practices when it was really necessary. (Some of the other swimmers I knew in other high schools) had to go to club team practice and then straight to high school practice so they were practicing for like four hours a day in a row and I think that just destroyed them. They were all burned out and (many simply) quit. It helped me want to go on to something better.

How were you recruited coming out of high school?

I don’t about ‘heavily.’ But starting the first day that you could start recruiting, I was getting phone calls from mostly teams that my club team coach had talked to. I think Florida State called me, Florida called me, North Carolina State… I really was only considering the Florida schools because coming from New Jersey (I was interested in living in Florida). I went on my trip to FSU my first weekend and I was like, ‘That’s it, I’m coming here.’ I looked at other schools but I wasn’t really considering them.

Why Florida State? What was the criteria?

They had a very good film school, which was what I was originally interested in doing. But also, the coach who was there at the time, Don Gibbs, he seemed very positive and thought that I could improve a lot. I talked to him a couple of times and he seemed very nice so I said, ‘Okay, I’ll come swim for you’.

Why did you want to transfer to Miami?

(In addition to the fact that coach Gibbs left), there were differences in the training styles. There (at FSU), they just figure you should ‘work, work, work’ and it will pay off. But it didn’t for me. Since I’m a sprinter, I benefit more from less yardage, but with more intensity. As opposed to more yardage, but less intensity.

What’s the practice style like here at UM?

It’s pretty individually tailored to each swimmer I think. Coach (Jim Sweeney) is pretty layed back in that he’ll let you do what you think you need. He won’t tell you what he thinks you’ll need. There’s a lot of communication. He understands that I need to swim for not quite as much yardage, but with more sprints and short fast stuff.

What are some of your career highlights?

Right off the bat, our first meet was against FSU and I swam pretty decent there. But let me tell you, it was nerve-racking last year swimming at FSU. Just seeing everybody there that I was friends with the year before and I really wanted to make a good impression and show them what they’d lost, but I think I was just too nervous and I didn’t swim to my potential. But this year I think I swam pretty well against FSU.

So what are some of your highlights?

I like the US Open last year. It was just a small group of people that went and we swam pretty well and also had a little bit of fun. It was on Long Island, so my parents were able to come and watch me swim, which they weren’t able to do a lot. Also, the BIG EAST was awesome. The (Atlantic Coast Conference) meet is such small meet it’s just girls with just six teams. The BIG EAST is 13 teams, men and women, it’s so much bigger and it’s such an experience to be in that atmosphere. And I think it’s also good because there are qualifying times so there’s a lot of support on the team just to qualify. I remember at last year’s meet everybody cheering for the people who hadn’t made it yet. It’s just a lot of fun.

What are some of your goals this season?

I hope to make the ‘A cut’ for NCAA’s and I would like to swim at NCAA’s in the individual events as well as the relays. Hopefully, I’ll become an All-American.

What do you want to do after college?

I’m really undecided and everybody is asking me what I’m doing because it’s coming up. I’m undecided about whether I want to coach or continue swimming or if I want to get a real job. I’m so undecided. I major in theatre arts with a minor in management. I’m not quite sure (what I want to do though yet).

What do you like about UM?

I like it that it’s small. FSU was such a big school that I felt like I got lost. I like how small and individualized UM is. My major classes only have less than 10 people in them.

What do you like about the team here?

There’s a lot of support for one another here and it’s shame that there’s no (men’s team), but with it just being the girls, it makes us somehow closer.

What about coach Sweeney?

I love James. He’s my favorite coach. I like the fact that he communicates pretty well with the team regarding how people need to train and he I think he trains us very well for what each person swims. He knows how to have fun. He likes to kid around and I think that helps. If you have a coach who’s just serious all of the time you’re not going to have much fun.

What do you like about swimming in particular?

I like the fact that, as opposed to most sports, it’s the time that matters. It’s more objective, it’s just a matter of who’s the fastest. As opposed to diving, (in which the competitors are evaluated). There’s just the time and there’s no judges to worry about. And I like the fact that if I have the perfect race maybe one of these days maybe I could go to the higher level meets and travel a lot.

Do you think you could compete (eventually) at the Olympic level?

I believe I could. The Olympics are two years after I graduate and I don’t know if I’ll be swimming that long, but I believe that if I didn’t have to worry about school or anything and I could focus on training then I could make the Olympic team. It’s hard in the US, though.

How important was swimming and diving strength and conditioning coach Lance Sewell to your development?

I think he helped a lot over the summer. I trained weights with him almost every day. It was good just training under him.