Fri, July 11: Lutz dives in headfirst

   CHAMPAIGN  Jim Lutz was eager to work with the Champaign County Aquachiefs. Little did the the University of Illinois coach know how eager the swim club was to have him dive right in.

   Aware that the IMPE Building pools on campus would be closed for the summer for repairs and upgrades, Lutz began searching late last winter for a place that Illini swimmers remaining on campus could train. His initial idea was to ask Champaign County Aquachiefs coach Marni Tobin if he could serve as an assistant, with a handful of his UI swimmers becoming club members.

   What Lutz didn''t know then was that Tobin already had decided to resign following the short-course season.

   What the folks who run the Aquachiefs knew was that time was running short. They needed to find a coach quickly if training was to resume on schedule in the spring.

   Enter Lutz.

   "Ironically enough, before I knew anything about Marni, I was going to contact her about me being on deck this summer with the Aquachiefs, anyway," Lutz said this week. "So actually, everything fell into place very nicely."

   After clearing the move with his UI bosses and boning up on what NCAA rules do and don''t allow in such circumstances, Lutz became the Aquachiefs'' interim head coach and program director. He''ll serve through the summer.

   Meanwhile, the group that runs the Aquachiefs  the Champaign County YMCA and the Champaign and Urbana park districts  is closing in on finding a full-time replacement.

   The opening has been advertised for months in swim publications, and applications will be accepted through Tuesday. Kevin Crump of the Champaign Park District estimated that about 20 people have applied.

   "We''re looking for a coach who''s had experience with swimmers at every level," the CPD''s sports and aquatic program manager said. "Olympic caliber, national caliber and the beginners."

   Such a search had been unnecessary for years because of the stable direction of Al Ledgin. The Aquachiefs'' coach and guiding spirit since 1983, Ledgin had produced numerous championship teams and national-caliber swimmers while establishing the club as one of the best in Midwest.

   Ledgin accepted a similar job in the Chicago area last year and was replaced in late August by Tobin. When the former Illini swimmer and current assistant coach at Centennial High School resigned months later to concentrate on completing her college degree, the search was on again.

   Club officials are eager regain stability in the coaching position. Fallout from the first transition included the eventual defection of some swimmers  particularly boys in the older age groups  to the Champaign Storm Aquatics club. According to Lutz, current Aquachief membership is 69, about 10 to 15 fewer than in previous summers.

   "When you have turnover in any program, anytime that happens that''s a concern," Crump said. "Al was here from the inception, and (his departure) was a hard thing to take."

   Lutz apparently has calmed the waters since joining the Aquachiefs in mid-April.

   "He is really a positive influence," said Brenda Searby, a past president of the club''s now-defunct booster board. "His attitude is ''Swim hard, but have fun, enjoy what you''re doing.'' "

   Several swimmers indicated that the rapid coaching turnover hasn''t been as disruptive to training as it could have been.

   "It was a little difficult at the beginning, but once you''ve gotten used it, it''s basically the same," said Tommy Lockman, a sophomore-to-be at Champaign Central. "I mean, Al and Marni and Jim aren''t night and day. It''s good to have change as long as it''s not too drastic."

   Christine Keller, a senior-to-be at Urbana University High, does see more difference than Lockman in the training methods of Ledgin and Lutz. However, she said that the presence in between of Tobin  who swam for both Ledgin and Lutz during her career  helped make the transition easier.

   "Jim is more quality-based training," she said, "and Al did a lot more meter work. Instead of doing 10 100s moderately fast, you do three to four with more rest, but you do them closer to race pace. I''ve heard  and I''m hoping that it''s true  that you get a lot more tired with quality-based training."

   As a college coach, Lutz is used to directing athletes in their late teens and early 20s. But he is not without experience in coaching the wide range of ages in club teams, where swimmers as young as 6 can join. Before coming to the UI in 1993, Lutz coached club swimming while serving as an assistant at the University of Arizona.

   "The biggest thing is, when you have the 13- to 15-year-olds, a big part of it is the social aspect," Lutz said. "You don''t want to completely remove that, but some of them have not been exposed to high-end training yet and don''t really understand that when you are there for that two-hour period, it''s business."

   But not all business. Lutz concluded one recent workout with a lengthy trip to the water slide at Sholem Pool, where the Aquachiefs train in the summer. And Lutz''s get-down-to-business approach when club members are in the pool isn''t accompanied by "a whip and a chain," Keller said with a laugh.

   "He''s really very positive and he makes practice fun," she said.

   Said Lockman: "He''s a great motivator, a fun guy. It''s hard to be happy and going at 6 o''clock in the morning, but he always is."

   Lutz says he''s enjoyed the experience as well, primarily for two reasons. First, the swimmers and their parents have been receptive and cooperative.

   "This is one of the most easy club situations I''ve ever dealt with," he said.

   Second, coaching the Aquachiefs brings him in direct contact with what he calls "the swimming community" of Champaign-Urbana.

   "This is a real good opportunity for me because I haven''t had a lot of interaction with the community," he said. "I''ve gone out and spoken to groups, of course, but this is more the basis of what the swimming community is here. It''s an opportunity to get interest stirred toward supporting the university team."

   Lutz says he''d like to continue his association to Aquachiefs in some capacity  perhaps as an adviser with oversight duties.

   "What I would do is touch base with each (age) group probably once a week throughout year," he said.

   Crump said Lutz''s continued involvement was still in the talking stages and couldn''t be fully addressed until a new coach is in place.

   "There is a possibility of Jim staying on in some way, shape or form," Crump said.

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