The Straight A Team: Lisa Werwinski
7/14/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming and Diving
July 14, 2010
OXFORD, Ohio - Once Miami University sophomore-to-be, Lisa Werwinski (Canton), quit gymnastics she never dreamed she would be a collegiate athlete. Little did she know she would eventually become a diver for the Redhawks as well as being a 4.0 student in the classroom.
Werwinski sat down with MURedHawks.com to tell us a little more about herself.
What was your first knowledge of Miami? Did you learn through KR Li or Dave Jennings?
Not at all. I came here for a the diving camp that Miami has because my high school coach has been helping coach there for years and my friends wanted me to go. I didn't want to because I didn't want to take off work and somehow I ended up here. That was before my senior year and KR was like `I want you to come on the team'. I said `I don't even know where I'm going'. After like the fourth day here, I remember standing on the board during exhibition and the last dive, I was like `this isn't right, I don't want to leave here'. At that point I applied to Miami and made an early decision, and everything else just worked out from there.
How difficult was the transition between high school and college?
I would say it really wasn't difficult because I was so well prepared in high school. I had five AP classes my senior year, three or four the year before, and two my sophomore year. I actually found college classes to be the same, if not easier, because in high school there's so much busy work, whereas in college it's just learning the material and doing what you need to do. I found the transition to be easier and I like what I'm taking here. I'm not forced to take it. I think that's the difference. Just the environment here, everyone partially wants to be here if not really wants to be here.
You received a 4.0 grade point average last semester, what courses did you take?
I had discrete math which is 331, it's proof based and that class is what gave me the biggest headache. It was my hardest one. It's a lot different than what I've taken before. I really enjoyed it in the end but it was a struggle. I took Spanish 351 and 361 which were just cultural history classes. I had 19 credit hours so it was kind of nuts. I took EDP 256 which was online. I really enjoyed that it was special education. It gave me a new perspective, being an athlete and student you don't really see that. I took EDP 201 which is another psychology class. I took anthropology 185 which was kind of cool because it was the study of people, so I liked that. I took an honors 182 which is just a communication class with incoming freshmen and that was really cool because I am still talking to one of the boys in my case load. I was also a UA (undergraduate associate )for a stats class, so I helped teach supplemental help sessions. That was probably my favorite thing I did last semester. The professor is only about nine years older than me but he was close enough to my age where he was able to relate to me. Teaching college students for the first time just helped me make up my mind to see that teaching is what I want to do.
Who is a teacher from high school that turned you toward education?
The one that sticks out in my mind is my AP calc teacher, Mr. Kreis. I had him for two years and he was an awesome math teacher. Just seeing how he prepared us for the AP test and how excited we were when we got credit at the end of the year, that made all the difference in the world. Teaching is an opportunity to give back some of the talent I've been blessed with.
Is your second year diving here at Miami going to be different than your first?
Yes, because last summer I was at home and not really doing much. This summer, working with KR all summer, getting into good physical shape, and getting my technique down is definitely going to help. I worked on my two-and-a-half twist all summer and that's what you need to do well in this conference.
How do you balance being a D-I athlete and student?
It's really hard. I just plan ahead and I know what I have to do. I know I have to be at practice. I do things a week ahead of time and I don't procrastinate because that's not an option. A typical day for me is getting up at six for morning practice. Then I'll eat really well so I have energy. I have class all day and then I normally finish around 10 o'clock at night, then I'll relax for a little bit or if I have a meeting for a club I'll do that. It takes a lot of discipline. Like I said, procrastination isn't really an option.
Tell me about your diving coach, KR.
KR is crazy! The biggest thing is he introduced me to a totally different culture, just the standards that the Chinese divers go by. The humility, just the way they act from a young age. Little things that KR thinks are really important I would never think of. If you're across the pool deck and you scream something to him, he gets offended by it because he thinks you're making him look bad on the pool deck. His coaching style is very quiet and he doesn't say a lot on the pool deck, which is different than a lot of high school coaches who are very verbal and excited. KR is extremely knowledgeable about diving and I've never smacked on a dive because his judgments are so good.
What are three words that best describe you?
Religious: it's really important to me. Determined: when I put my mind to something I'll finish it. Finally I'd say stubborn. If I can't figure out a math problem, I'll sit there until I get it. And if I can't do a dive, I'll keep working on it untilI get it.
What is your favorite "coachism"?
The Nike saying is `Just do it!' KR always ends up saying `Just doing it'.
What's the best advice you've been given?
Worrying implies not trusting God because when I worry about things it's detrimental to my performance, whether it be on the board or in the classroom. When you're worrying about things, you're not at your peak performance.
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