Lydia Lucas, Journalist
March 5, 2024
For the past 3 years, Matt Oonk has been the Varsity swim coach for both the guys and girls. He states that, “In [his] experience the kids who are the most improved are the ones that show up each day with an attacking mindset,” and “Anyone who has been a part of the swim and dive program knows, [he] stresses mental health a ton.”
“One of my favorite aspects of Matt is that he focuses on individual success. He wants me to improve as much as I do myself,” says senior Sydney Barnhill. Matt is known for making sure each person on the team knows how much potential they have in the sport. We hear just this from junior Maya Ludema as she says, “He emphasizes the importance of personal goals and mental health above everything else. Matt has pushed me to become a better swimmer by continuously reminding me of the potential I have and always encouraging me to work harder than I think I can.”
Coach Oonk has made a huge impact on the swimmers coming through his program and will continue to help create fantastic athletes. Despite every long meet and each cold jump into the pool, an ongoing question is how the girls’ and guys’ teams require different ways of coaching. Every week during the season, both teams have to put their whole hearts into the pool and give it their all, but what are some challenges or similarities that occur within each group?
When asked about the format of practices, Coach Oonk shares, “For the most part, the sets for both teams are very similar. The guy’s team will often have tougher intervals for sets, but that’s pretty much it. The big difference in training is the pre-school practices the girls have and Christmas break practices for the boys.” He then went on to share his favorite sets that both the guys and girls experience including, “DePauw 100’s, Mojo, and the Dirty 30.” A set can best be defined as a time given to complete a series of fast or aerobic work with rest embedded in the interval time and a particular heart rate you should be reaching for. He vocalized that those particular sets are his favorite because “They are incredibly challenging, both physically and mentally, and really push the athletes to their limits.”
As stated earlier, Coach Oonk is very passionate about each swimmer’s mental health. He feels that “it’s something that’s incredibly important and often overlooked in other sports.” In his opinion, “If you are not 100% mentally there’s no way you can be 100% physically.” Every swimmer who has or is currently being coached by Oonk knows he is there for them and he cares not only about the team’s success but them individually as well.
Junior Landen Maatman shares that he has “strongly benefited from having Matt as a coach,” and Oonk is “extremely specific in advice for swimmers to focus on each person in order to give them personalized training that helps them perform.” Coach says he “tries his best to ensure that every athlete on his teams knows that they are cared for and supported.” You saw that come into play from what Landen shared in his experience. Senior Josie Fynewever shares “Coach personally knows my best times and always has had something to say after every race [she] has swum.”
Along with mental health and individual goals, family is a huge part of the team. Junior Emma Reilly states that having a family aspect, “helps in the water because everyone knows the whole team is cheering them on as well as their coach.” Swimming is bigger than just a sport. Since every girl and guy is committed to not only their own goals but their teammates as well, a family team does not become a chore but instead becomes a community. Senior Makena Scholten shares her thoughts about the family the Coach has helped create and says “The family he’s created in our team helps us to build and pick each other up in every aspect of our sport. We are able to lean on each other and support each other during difficult days, difficult sets, and difficult meets. It also creates a lasting bond outside of the pool for the team.“ The connections and friendships between athletes in the pool do not stop when the season is done.
Along with Coach Oonk’s hard practices, he makes swimming fun by celebrating each victory and accomplishment that comes with toughness. Makena Scholten said, “You’d think he just won the lottery with his reactions to us accomplishing season-long goals. He’ll look at his stopwatch and jump and dance and it makes everyone laugh.” When Landen Maatman made his state cut, “Matt walked over and gave [him] a hug while cheering [him] on for the whole event.” Every win is a big deal in Coach Oonk’s book. He is the type of coach that is there for every high and every low and the swimmers talk very highly of his celebrations.
Swimming is a sport that needs a hardworking and dedicated coach. Coach Oonk fits that role and will continue to create fantastic swimmers on the Hamilton High School boys and girls teams. When asked about seasons ending, he says it is “incredibly rewarding knowing how much those kids have put into the program, and how much better the program is because they were a part of it.”
Moving forward, Coach Oonk is excited for future swimmers who “buy into the process and trust the coaching, and give 100% of themselves every day, day after day.” After 3 years of coaching and dedication to the pool, he is ready for years to come.