Erik Johnson could not let swimming go

Staff

Published Tuesday, October 30, 2007

By Jeff Budlong, sports editor

The sport is demanding. Physically and mentally draining, time consuming and unforgiving. So goes the life of a swimmer.

So why would Erik Johnson be drawn back to the water?

“The chlorine gets in your blood,” said the Tigers assistant coach, who is in his second year working with both the boys’ and girls’ teams under his former head coach Jon Schmitz.

Johnson began swimming as a fifth-grader beginning with the YMCA team before eventually becoming a key member of the Tigers’ high school squad graduating in 2002. He went on to swim at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

Like many swimmers Johnson came from a swimming family so he spent plenty of time in the pool at an early age. Even his younger brother, Mitch, found his way into the pool after first giving hockey a try.

Johnson began his swimming career as a backstroke specialist, but when a lack of team depth dictated it, he moved into the sprints. Regardless of what he swam, Johnson was successful even if he felt he was a little misunderstood by some outside the pool.

“The competition is what I enjoyed and a lot of people thought I was cocky, but I respected the person I raced,” he said. “But it was time to race so let’s put on a show. I never expected to win, but that was the goal.”

His competitive nature is something he believes swimmers need to have to be successful and something he has witnessed while coaching swimmers today. “I have seen them go from ‘I want to do the best I can’ to ‘I want to win’ and to see that spark is a good time.”

Johnson’s college career was a successful one as he placed fourth at nationals and was a three-time NCAA All-American, but it did not come without a lot of hard work.

“It was very intense for me,” he said. “We had guys on that team who were defending national champions, one was an Olympic trials swimmer, so it was

very successful and a top 10 team at the Division III level.”

Despite the rigorous demands, Johnson was ready to get back poolside when the call came after college.

“Jon has been the coach for the guys forever,” Johnson said. “He picked up the girls last year and he gave me a call and said he needed an assistant coach. I thought about it and decided it was something I wanted to do.”

Johnson, a self-proclaimed car guy who is able to balance the time needed at the pool with his full-time job at Flaherty Chevrolet, said one of the biggest adjustments to the coaching ranks was dealing with the different mentalities you find on high school teams.

“You have a wide rage of ages here and I had to readjust and learn what it took to prepare them mentally and physically,” he said. “This is a very demanding sport because we are swimming at least 5,000 yards a day in a two-hour, 15-minute time period.”

Johnson’s adjustment to the world of coaching has progressed nicely in the short time span. Schmitz now entrusts his former swimmer with running the swimming portions of practices, training sessions and even allows him to set up meet lineups.

Johnson said he would like to be a head swim coach at some point, but he realizes he has plenty more to learn before that comes to fruition. However, he is learning from a man who not only was his former coach but someone who finds a way to get the most out of every swimmer in the pool.

“He knows what he wants and what he expects out of the girls,” said Johnson of Schmitz. “There is no leeway so they give it to him. All we want of them is the best they can do, but if all you are focused on is the best you can do you are putting a cap on them.”

That kind of philosophy drove the Tiger boys’ team to four Big Nine Conference titles during Johnson’s six years in the program.

Albert Lea swimming is different today then it was just seven years ago when Johnson wrapped up his career. Most of it has to do with a drop in numbers for both the boys’ and girls’ teams, but Johnson wants to do what he can to help the program.

“It is definitely heartbreaking not to see the numbers,” he said. “But a lot of it deals with the youth program and getting strong numbers there.”

Johnson is now doing his part to help and it is doubtful he will stray too far from the pool. After all it’s in his blood.

Age: 26

Address: Albert Lea

Livelihood: detail manager at Flaherty Chevrolet

Family: father, Craig, mother, Michele, brother, Mitch

Interesting fact: Johnson thinks he has a split personality. Away from the pool he is calm and reserved. At the pool he has earned the nickname of “drill sergeant.”

---

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SHARE THIS STORY?

---