Meet Head Swim Coach Mariusz Podkoscielny
March 31, 2005
Jacqueline Vaituulala is a student in a news journalism class taught by veteran sportswriter Michelle Kaufman. –
Coral Gables, Fla (www.hurricanesports.com) — Mariusz Podkoscielny wakes up at 4:20 every morning and hits the pool deck at 5:00 am. He spends the rest of the day until 6:00 pm, preparing the broad-backed ladies of UM’s swimming team for a season more competitive than the last. UM Head Coach Mariuz Podkoscielny instills his morals and experience to his team’s vision of success.
Podkoscielny was a nine-year-old boy from Poland with the face of an angel but the drive of a bull. While growing up under a Communist rule, he could not afford the same kind of clothes or the leisure lifestyle most children enjoy. He worked hard to craft his talent. He was born with athleticism that sparked the interests of many people.
His father pressured his son to swim in hope to see Mariusz succeed and escape the poor conditions that Communism created. Podkoscielny’s coaches saw him as their golden boy and their inimitable chance to train a future Olympian. Mariusz was a prisoner of his own athletic gift and found himself swimming for the likes of everyone but himself. At the age of nine, he attended a school specialized for young athletes, that would allow him to train 20 to 30 hours per week and practice twice a day.
Podkoscielny’s hardworking childhood earned him a scholarship to swim in the United States at the University of Arizona. Arizona Coach Frank Busch admired Mariusz’s commitment to the sport.
“Mariusz took advantage of his talent because he knew that a lot of people back home (Poland) were not given many opportunities” said Coach Busch.
Today, Mariusz Podkoscielny is still determined with a vision to make the University of Miami’s women’s swimming team a nationally top-ranked program. In the two years that he has been the head coach, the Hurricanes advanced from a 5-7 overall record in the 2003-2004 season to 7-7 in the 2004-2005 season, despite this season’s more competitive schedule.
“We have created a supportive atmosphere on the pool deck and in the water that will lead to success down the road” said Podkoscielny.
There is a thin line between motivation and too much pressure. Podkoscielny is careful not to cross that line. When he was a child swimming became a job, he swam because everyone around him pushed him. Now, he stresses the importance of balancing swimming with life that will keep you focused in the water and sane on the pool deck.
Two-time All-American, Naya Higashijima, who was coached by Podkoscielny at Oregon State, appreciated his influence in her life and her career.
“Coach Mariusz made me a better athlete and a better person. He helped me understand that if I do not let myself enjoy life, I will not be able to succeed in the pool neither” said Higashijima.
Podkoscielny `s practice of balancing swimming into your life could take credit for his successful swimming career as an athlete. When Podkoscielny came to the United States to swim for the University of Arizona, he learned how important swimming was to him. For the first time in his life, he swam without the forced pressure he received back home in Poland. He began to enjoy excelling in his sport and in his life.
“When you do it for someone else out of fear, you set the limit a lot lower. When you do it for yourself, you see the purpose and when you motivate yourself, the sky is the limit” said Podkoscielny.
This attitude earned Podkoscielny an impressive career at Arizona as a 16-time All-American and a winner of a National Championship in the 1,650 freestyle as a freshman. In all of his four years at Arizona, Mariusz finished among the top three nationally in 500 and 1,650 freestyles. Mariusz also set school records in the 200, 500 and 1,650 freestyles. At the peak of Mariusz’s career he represented the Polish National Team in the 1988 Olympics. Mariusz finished fifth in both the 400 and 1,500 freestyles and set the Olympic record in the preliminaries in the 400 freestyle.
In 1992 Podkoscielny retired his 19-year career as a swimmer. After three weeks, he started to miss swimming and returned to the pool deck, not as a swimmer but as a coach. His former coach at the University of Arizona gave him a volunteer position for the men and women’s swimming team. Podkoscielny spent early mornings assisting the coaches and athletes.
“I knew that Mariusz was passionate about coaching because he worked hard without pay…he had a passion for people and for the sport” said Coach Busch.
After three seasons at Arizona, Podkoscielny went to Oregon State University for his first head coaching job. He spent seven seasons as the head coach of Oregon State’s women’s swimming team, where he crafted a team from the bottom of the PAC-10 conference to one of the top 20 programs in the nation.
In 2003, Podkoscielny arrived in Miami with a mission to create another nationally dominant swimming team. The Hurricanes’ nationally recognized athletic department, facilities and location immediately attracted him to Miami. Podkoscielny expects the Hurricanes to become one of the top 5 or top 10 swimming programs in the country with Miami’s resources and a team that follows a unified vision of success.
“Miami’s going to be a nationally ranked program. Mariusz will succeed!” exclaimed Arizona Coach Frank Busch.
