By Rachelle Pavelko
r-pavelko@onu.edu
It’s not about what her athletes have or don’t have that’s the issue, Peggy Ewald instead focuses on technique, develops what strengths the athletes do have, and relies on the quality of the training.
Unlike most coaches in the Ohio Athletic Conference, Ewald doesn’t just oversee collegiate Division III swimmers. As an assistant coach and staff member to Team USA, she also trains Paralympic athletes.
“These are elite level athletes,” Ewald said. “As an ambassador for Team USA it’s important for me to educate and make people aware of the Paralympic Games. It’s just like the Olympics, except these Games aren’t for the abled. These are elite level, disabled athletes.”
Ewald was been an assistant coach on Team USA for the Paralympic Games since 2003. This year, however, will most likely be one of the more memorable, as Ewald traveled to Beijing with the rest of Team USA for the Paralympic Summer Games.
On Aug. 18, Ewald left her hometown of Tiffin and traveled to Colorado Springs for team training. Security measures were discussed, Chinese customs were explained, mug shots were taken, uniforms were distributed, medical forms were checked over, and the security group traveling to Beijing was introduced to the team.
Team USA landed in Japan on Aug. 23 and spent 10 days acclimating to the culture and climate. They were stationed on a military base and received warm welcomes from the U.S. servicemen.
“The military really embraced our group,” Ewald said. “They watched our athletes train; they ate meals with us. Each soldier was teamed up with one athlete, serving essentially as a ‘sponsor.’ I think a lot of life-long relationships were formed.”
From there Team USA traveled to Beijing to begin the Paralympic Games, which are held ten days after the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games.
“The Games are completely separate, 10 days later but exactly the same,” Ewald said. “Our athletes used the same facilities, followed the same schedule. The only difference is that instead of abled athletes, these are Paralympic athletes.”
Ewald explained that there is a formal classification process to decide which category each disabled athlete will be able to participate and compete in. Each spot in one of the swim events is aligned with the athletes classification.
As a member of staff, Ewald shares the coaching responsibilities for all 38 of the Team USA swimmers. However, each coach has two ‘home athletes’ that they oversee year round. Beth Kolbe, a Tiffin native, was one of the home athletes and has been under Ewald’s training since her high school days. April Kerley from Loveland, Ohio also works with Ewald year round.
As a coach, Ewald couldn’t be happier about the outcome of the Paralympic Games for Team USA. Just in this year’s Summer Games, 99 American Records, 48 PanAm Records, 23 Paralympic Games Records and 16 World Records were broken.
“We are definitely a performance orientated team,” Ewald said. “It was an honor to be a part of a team that worked so well together, from the athletes to the coaches. We all wanted the same thing.”
Ewald said that her Paralympic swimmers brought home 17 gold medals, 14 silver and 13 bronze for a grand total of 44 medals.
“It’s so rewarding to work with athletes on this level,” Ewald said, “and we were very happy with how they performed at the Games.”
Though Beijing was an incredible journey for Ewald, it was definitely not the first time she has traveled as an affiliate of Team USA. Some of the most noted trips include coaching in Manchester, Berlin, Belgium, Montreal, Vancouver, Rio de Janeiro, Baltimore, Minneapolis, Portland and Colorado Springs.
Ewald described her experiences with Team USA as an honor. Though she enjoys her time spent representing America and Paralympic athletes, she doesn’t feel as if it detracts any from her coaching at the collegiate level.
“Each year the staff of Team USA is asked to fill out an availability schedule for coaching,” Ewald said. “We all have other jobs; Team USA has to fit into our work schedules.”
Ewald has been the head coach for Northern’s swimming and diving teams for the past four years. Ewald has led the men’s team to OAC Championship titles in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008, and the women’s team placed first in 2007.
“I think they [my coaching strategies] intertwine,” Ewald said. “I think my work with the Paralympic group has made me more focused on quality work. I work with what I have, and it’s made me more creative as a coach. I don’t always have all the whistles and bells. You have to find ways to do things differently; to succeed.”
Home from Beijing, Ewald welcomes a new season of ONU swimming and diving that begins today. Regardless of the athlete, Ewald is prepared to take on the challenges.