Purdue swimming & diving is spending the second half of the semester break on campus in Fort Lauderdale for its biennial winter training trip. Selected student-athletes are authoring blog posts about their experience in South Florida. Check back for updates throughout the trip.
Trip Preview / Photo Gallery
McKenna Jule // Jan. 3
Hello! This is McKenna Jule. I am a sophomore from Pendleton, Indiana. I swim sprint freestyle and some butterfly.
We began the new year with a co-ed practice. Practice started with a 2020 themed warmup and ended with some fast 75s off the blocks. The D Crew also had a killer set of broken 250s. The women's team then had a quick ab workout, which included some intense planking and monster walks.
Following our workout we dressed up for a co-ed dinner at Zuckerellos, where the calamari and tiramisu did not disappoint. After dinner, we had time to relax around the hotel.
On January 2nd, the women's team had an early-morning swim filled with some kick and pull work. After practice we all went our separate ways, some choosing the healthy route -- getting some colorful smoothie bowls -- while some stopped for Krispy Kreme donuts (definitely my choice). We then soaked up some sun by the ocean and the pool before our second practice of the day.
Our second practice of the day was a mixture of sets. The sprint squad had a challenging active rest set, while mid distance and distance had some difficult threshold sets. We then finished our day with a solid lift. All in all, it was a great way to start the new year!
Nick Sherman // Jan. 2
Hey Boilers! This is Nicholas Sherman, a sophomore on the men's team. It is currently the Jan. 2, but I am here to bring you a recap of the last couple of days here in lovely Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Day 2 ended with a New Year's celebration by walking the beach accompanied with some local fireworks displays. With a long day promised the next morning, a speedy walk back to the hotel to get some sleep followed. Coach Dan says nothing good happens after 12:30!
There's no better way to start the first day of the year than with some fast swimming, so that's exactly what we did. We began our morning with 20 efforts to start our 2020 off right; a combination of eight glide and start drills, six rapid fire squat jumps, and finally six fast 75's off the blocks! After a long lifting session, the men's team cleaned up and donned our best collared shirts and khaki shorts, joining the women's team as we ate our fill at one of Dan's favorite local places, Zuckerello's Italian Restaurant.
Day 4 saw the Boilers tackle a double in the Florida sun. While long, our morning swim allowed us to soak up the great sun and get some experience swimming outdoors. After lunch at various places around town, we took a break on the beach to play more beach volleyball and get as much ocean as we can. Our final practice of the day had us separating into stroke groups and getting to practice what each of us do best. However, most of the team ended with an exhausting butterfly set and a fast 100 off the blocks.
After these last couple of days, I am super excited with our training and the culture we are continuing to identify and grow at Purdue swim and dive. We can't wait to see what is in store for this team as we approach championship season. Happy New Year and Boiler Up!
Kelsey Macaddino // Dec. 31
Hello Boilers! This is Kelsey Macaddino, a junior on the women's swim team, reporting from the beautiful Atlantic Coast of Florida – Fort Lauderdale. It is currently Tuesday evening, so Happy New Year!! The women's team has been here in Florida for about two and a half days now and have had four practices, one weight session and one (extremely sweaty and dirty) dryland workout.
Some highlights from the pool deck so far have been a great D-crew threshold set Monday night and some fast 100 times being thrown down by the sprint and mid-distance groups during our active rest set this morning. We've also had some interesting wildlife encounters on deck, including a cute but no longer living gecko floating in the power tower buckets (RIP Gerald). There was also a face-off between Molly and a large iguana – Molly won of course. Stay tuned to see if any iguanas end up joining us for a swim.
Outside of the pool, the women's team has spent most of our time trying to soak up the limited sun rays that have made their way through the clouds, but we're excited for some sunnier days coming up. The beach is about a seven-minute walk from the hotel. We've enjoyed napping on the beach (because naps are a vital part of every double day), listening to good music, spending a very limited amount of time in the water, and watching out for jellyfish after suffering two relatively minor jellyfish stings the first day. I've also enjoyed spending some quality time in the van driving to and from the pool, which has involved loud singing, tik tok dancing and being amazed at how John's van always gets to the pool before us.
And of course, I couldn't conclude this blog post without talking about the delicious food! Some favorites so far have been Acai bowls and smoothies from Maya Papaya, everything on the menu at a great Mexican restaurant named Taquitos and some intense sandwiches from Primanti Bros.
Now I'm getting ready to ring in the new year on the beach with the team and am looking forward to a co-ed quality practice and dinner Wednesday! Have a great new year. I would say decade, but my mom says the decade doesn't officially end until the end of 2020. Boiler Up!!
Ryan Lawrence // Dec. 31
Hey there Boilers. Ryan Lawrence here, a junior on the men's team, checking in. Our trip started with a test of patience due to some large flight delays, but the team made the most of it by playing cards and having fun in the Indy Airport. I can't gloss over this part of the trip without mentioning the giant Jenga block creations (pictured below) made by David Forsyth, Jason Jung, and Anthony Phan. Some true talent there. By the time we had dealt with everything and arrived at our hotel it was around 3:00 a.m., so it was straight to bed to get some rest.
Day 1 for us was Monday Dec. 30, and it was a day of preparation. We had no morning practice thanks to our late night of travel, so the team took advantage by sleeping in a bit and heading on over to the Publix (grocery store) to get stocked up for the week.
That afternoon we had our first practice at the beautiful Pine Crest School, where we're fortunate to be guests and have access to their wonderful facilities to train at. We've had a few highlights so far including some impromptu 1 v 1 races, and some heroic individual swims at the end of some grueling practices (shout out to Dale Williams). It's also been a welcome change of pace to be outside and enjoying the weather as we tackle the exciting training trip practices whipped up by the coaches.
Day 2 featured our first double practice of the trip. After a great mid-morning session, most of the team grabbed a quick lunch and headed straight for the beach. Luckily for us, it's a short 10-minute walk from our hotel. There's plenty of fun activities including restaurants, volleyball, spikeball, frisbee, and of course the ocean itself. Despite it being the depths of winter the Atlantic is still nice and warm, and the weather has been great for our first few days. We were able to soak up the sun, take a few much-needed naps, take part in a few highly competitive beach volleyball games, and (mostly) avoid any sunburns before we headed back to finish off our workouts for the day with another afternoon practice.
As I write you now it's the evening of the 31st, so we're getting ready to ring in the new year, and we're fortunate to be here together in Florida to do so. We're looking forward to a great rest of the trip, and we can't wait to see what we have in store for the rest of the season. From all of us to you, have a happy new year, and Boiler Up!
Purdue Swim-Dive's Winter Training Trip by PURDUE ATHLETICS on Exposure
Trip Preview / Photo Gallery
McKenna Jule // Jan. 3
Hello! This is McKenna Jule. I am a sophomore from Pendleton, Indiana. I swim sprint freestyle and some butterfly.
We began the new year with a co-ed practice. Practice started with a 2020 themed warmup and ended with some fast 75s off the blocks. The D Crew also had a killer set of broken 250s. The women's team then had a quick ab workout, which included some intense planking and monster walks.
Following our workout we dressed up for a co-ed dinner at Zuckerellos, where the calamari and tiramisu did not disappoint. After dinner, we had time to relax around the hotel.
On January 2nd, the women's team had an early-morning swim filled with some kick and pull work. After practice we all went our separate ways, some choosing the healthy route -- getting some colorful smoothie bowls -- while some stopped for Krispy Kreme donuts (definitely my choice). We then soaked up some sun by the ocean and the pool before our second practice of the day.
Our second practice of the day was a mixture of sets. The sprint squad had a challenging active rest set, while mid distance and distance had some difficult threshold sets. We then finished our day with a solid lift. All in all, it was a great way to start the new year!
Nick Sherman // Jan. 2
Hey Boilers! This is Nicholas Sherman, a sophomore on the men's team. It is currently the Jan. 2, but I am here to bring you a recap of the last couple of days here in lovely Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Day 2 ended with a New Year's celebration by walking the beach accompanied with some local fireworks displays. With a long day promised the next morning, a speedy walk back to the hotel to get some sleep followed. Coach Dan says nothing good happens after 12:30!
There's no better way to start the first day of the year than with some fast swimming, so that's exactly what we did. We began our morning with 20 efforts to start our 2020 off right; a combination of eight glide and start drills, six rapid fire squat jumps, and finally six fast 75's off the blocks! After a long lifting session, the men's team cleaned up and donned our best collared shirts and khaki shorts, joining the women's team as we ate our fill at one of Dan's favorite local places, Zuckerello's Italian Restaurant.
Day 4 saw the Boilers tackle a double in the Florida sun. While long, our morning swim allowed us to soak up the great sun and get some experience swimming outdoors. After lunch at various places around town, we took a break on the beach to play more beach volleyball and get as much ocean as we can. Our final practice of the day had us separating into stroke groups and getting to practice what each of us do best. However, most of the team ended with an exhausting butterfly set and a fast 100 off the blocks.
After these last couple of days, I am super excited with our training and the culture we are continuing to identify and grow at Purdue swim and dive. We can't wait to see what is in store for this team as we approach championship season. Happy New Year and Boiler Up!
Kelsey Macaddino // Dec. 31
Hello Boilers! This is Kelsey Macaddino, a junior on the women's swim team, reporting from the beautiful Atlantic Coast of Florida – Fort Lauderdale. It is currently Tuesday evening, so Happy New Year!! The women's team has been here in Florida for about two and a half days now and have had four practices, one weight session and one (extremely sweaty and dirty) dryland workout.
Some highlights from the pool deck so far have been a great D-crew threshold set Monday night and some fast 100 times being thrown down by the sprint and mid-distance groups during our active rest set this morning. We've also had some interesting wildlife encounters on deck, including a cute but no longer living gecko floating in the power tower buckets (RIP Gerald). There was also a face-off between Molly and a large iguana – Molly won of course. Stay tuned to see if any iguanas end up joining us for a swim.
Outside of the pool, the women's team has spent most of our time trying to soak up the limited sun rays that have made their way through the clouds, but we're excited for some sunnier days coming up. The beach is about a seven-minute walk from the hotel. We've enjoyed napping on the beach (because naps are a vital part of every double day), listening to good music, spending a very limited amount of time in the water, and watching out for jellyfish after suffering two relatively minor jellyfish stings the first day. I've also enjoyed spending some quality time in the van driving to and from the pool, which has involved loud singing, tik tok dancing and being amazed at how John's van always gets to the pool before us.
And of course, I couldn't conclude this blog post without talking about the delicious food! Some favorites so far have been Acai bowls and smoothies from Maya Papaya, everything on the menu at a great Mexican restaurant named Taquitos and some intense sandwiches from Primanti Bros.
Now I'm getting ready to ring in the new year on the beach with the team and am looking forward to a co-ed quality practice and dinner Wednesday! Have a great new year. I would say decade, but my mom says the decade doesn't officially end until the end of 2020. Boiler Up!!
Ryan Lawrence // Dec. 31
Hey there Boilers. Ryan Lawrence here, a junior on the men's team, checking in. Our trip started with a test of patience due to some large flight delays, but the team made the most of it by playing cards and having fun in the Indy Airport. I can't gloss over this part of the trip without mentioning the giant Jenga block creations (pictured below) made by David Forsyth, Jason Jung, and Anthony Phan. Some true talent there. By the time we had dealt with everything and arrived at our hotel it was around 3:00 a.m., so it was straight to bed to get some rest.
Day 1 for us was Monday Dec. 30, and it was a day of preparation. We had no morning practice thanks to our late night of travel, so the team took advantage by sleeping in a bit and heading on over to the Publix (grocery store) to get stocked up for the week.
That afternoon we had our first practice at the beautiful Pine Crest School, where we're fortunate to be guests and have access to their wonderful facilities to train at. We've had a few highlights so far including some impromptu 1 v 1 races, and some heroic individual swims at the end of some grueling practices (shout out to Dale Williams). It's also been a welcome change of pace to be outside and enjoying the weather as we tackle the exciting training trip practices whipped up by the coaches.
Day 2 featured our first double practice of the trip. After a great mid-morning session, most of the team grabbed a quick lunch and headed straight for the beach. Luckily for us, it's a short 10-minute walk from our hotel. There's plenty of fun activities including restaurants, volleyball, spikeball, frisbee, and of course the ocean itself. Despite it being the depths of winter the Atlantic is still nice and warm, and the weather has been great for our first few days. We were able to soak up the sun, take a few much-needed naps, take part in a few highly competitive beach volleyball games, and (mostly) avoid any sunburns before we headed back to finish off our workouts for the day with another afternoon practice.
As I write you now it's the evening of the 31st, so we're getting ready to ring in the new year, and we're fortunate to be here together in Florida to do so. We're looking forward to a great rest of the trip, and we can't wait to see what we have in store for the rest of the season. From all of us to you, have a happy new year, and Boiler Up!
Purdue Swim-Dive's Winter Training Trip by PURDUE ATHLETICS on Exposure