Brad Erickson
Editors note: Brad Erickson has entered his 35th year as the SDSU Swimming and Diving coach. We caught up with him about his teams and his hopes for the Summit League Championships in February.
Q.Your thoughts on your team’s season so far?
A. Starting with the women, we have a very young team, we’ve brought 15 freshman in this year. I would say so far they’ve done a great job contributing to the success we’ve had so far. On the men’s side, it’s very similar. We brought in some freshman that have made a major impact on our performances this year.
Q. One standout so far this year is freshman Chris Schreier, what can you say about his talent and the year he’s had so far?
A. It’s a pleasant surprise to have that kind of talent with us, I think he’s surprised as well. A lot of the times he’s doing are his own personal records as well. To clock those times he’s done, the school records that he’s got for us under our training is really amazing and we’re very excited to see what he can do at conference. He’s a good talent, he’s a hard worker, he’s brought some good things to the team not only by times.
Q. On the women’s side, there are some familiar names and a sister of a great swimmer for the program, what can you say about the women that have surprised you this year?
A. I think the biggest thing, not so much a surprise, is the depth that we’ve gotten. We’ve gotten people that are coming in and coming close right behind the Hoffman’s and Budahl’s on our team. It’s just such a pleasure to come to practice everyday and watch these kids train and work and improve.
Q. What are some of the trial’s of having a swimming/diving team at SDSU?
A. I think facility wise our biggest challenge is space. We’ve got 48 people on our roster trying to pin into a six-lane pool, it puts a lot of time on our coaching staff that’s probably on deck usually six or seven hours a day with different groups in getting things done. That does take away from the team concept a little, a lot of times the only time the entire team sees each other is at a meet because they practice with each other at different times during the day.
Q. You go on a training trip to Florida every year, what’s beneficial about that event?
A. The biggest thing is our focus is on the sport. They don’t have to worry about classes, tests, papers or anything like that. It’s a time where they can really focus on the sport of swimming. The other benefit is it’s a great team bonding and building time, they really get a chance to know each other when they’re away from the pool. Personalities come out; it’s just a time to focus on the sport and on each other.
Q. Do you feel like your team is shaping up nicely to have a nice showing in the Summit League conference championships in Indianapolis this February?
A. I think that we’ve got a very good shot to finish second, both men and women. Oakland University is still at this point the team to beat and they’ve got the depth. If you look at the top 10 performances the league sends out every week, they’ve probably got six or seven of those 10. To say that you’ve got a chance to beat them at this point is unrealistic, but for us our women did finish second last year and the men were fourth. I would be disappointed if we didn’t retain that spot with the women and move up a spot or two with the men, that’s the goal we’ve been talking about with the team all year is where we can position ourself and how we can get there.
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