For Hamline’s swimming and diving team, success outside of the pool is just as important as success inside of it.

Frank Vaccaro has been the head coach of Hamline’s men’s and women’s swimming and diving team for the past five seasons.

When he recruits athletes, the first thing he asks them is what their school goals are.

Vaccaro puts a huge emphasis on academics. Hamline’s swimming and diving program has been awarded the Academic All-American award every season during Vaccaro’s five year tenure. This award entails that every athlete on the team earned a GPA of 3.0 or higher.

He said that the team doesn’t have any seniors due to the time-consuming majors they’re pursuing.

“I respect that as a coach, but at the same time it’s upsetting that we don’t have them on the team,” Vaccaro said.

According to Vaccaro, 14 of the players that he’s recruited aren’t even participating this year.

“I tell every student that I teach that they need to continue their education, whether they’re in an organized class or just in life,” Vaccaro said.

Essentially, he wants his players to grasp the life lessons they learn from swimming and diving.

Vaccaro also explained how he wants his athletes to build as close a relationship with their professors as they have with their athletic coaches. He wants them to participate and be as engaged in the classroom setting as they are in the swimming pool.

He believes the hard work and determination they bring to swimming and diving will translate to the other areas of their life.

“I tell them that there are two things that they can control: their attitude and their effort,” Vaccaro said. “If they come in with the right attitude and give 100 percent effort, they’re going to be able to make those goals and those goals are going to change them. You make a goal and set a new one.”

He also mentioned that practicing in this sport is much different than in others.

“I am an orchestra constructor,” Vaccaro said, describing his role during practice. “Everybody is doing something different.”

He wants his team to focus on the individual goals they set out for themselves.

To accommodate that, he assigns his athletes personalized workouts to help them reach their goals. Since there’s so much variety in swimming, many of the individuals are on a different page at practice.

Vaccaro’s motto is “don’t live up to dreams, live up to goals.”

He wants his team to set challenging goals for themselves that are obtainable, and once they reach those, set bigger ones.

Renee Punyko is in her third year as an assistant coach for the men’s and women’s swimming and diving team.

Vaccaro expressed how fortunate the team is to learn from Punyko. She has been a National Qualifiers

He wants his team to set challenging goals for themselves that are obtainable, and once they reach those, set bigger ones.

Renee Punyko is in her third year as an assistant coach for the men’s and women’s swimming and diving team.

Vaccaro expressed how fortunate the team is to learn from Punyko. She has been a National Qualifier as well as an All-Academic student athlete.

“[Punyko] knows what it takes to compete at that championship level,” Vaccaro said.

As for this season, Vaccaro said he’s excited about his young group, which is stacked with sophomores and first-years.

“They keep on getting more and more experience and want more,” Vaccaro said.

The team is off to a solid start. At the Hamline Invitational both teams finished in third place.

On Nov. 10 the men’s team defeated Saint Mary’s in a match Vaccaro predicted would be “a fight to the finish.”

For the women’s diving squad, Dani Waskosky has already made her big splash as a first-year. She has placed in the top 10 in the 1-Meter through six dives.

The Pipers’ young swimming and diving team is coming together rather quickly.

The experience should serve the Pipers well. After all they may not be able to control the outcome, but they can strive to reach their goals.