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26 | December 29, 2016 | The glenview lantern Sports<br />
glenviewlantern.com<br />
Athlete of the Week<br />
10 questions<br />
with Joe Park<br />
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Park is a senior swimmer at Glenbrook<br />
South.<br />
When did you start swimming?<br />
I started competitively swimming in<br />
seventh or eighth grade, but I took swim<br />
lessons when I was a lot younger.<br />
What is most challenging about the<br />
sport?<br />
The mental aspect. Everyone always<br />
says swimming is the most boring sport<br />
ever because you just stay in the water<br />
and swim back and forth staring at that<br />
blue line in the bottom. The hardest part is<br />
willing yourself and saying I have to go to<br />
practice. I have to get better for the team<br />
and for myself.<br />
What you favorite part about the<br />
sport?<br />
Definitely having a good team. The exhilaration<br />
of winning that race at the end<br />
of the season. You’ve been training days<br />
and days, month and years to reach that<br />
goal you set maybe a couple months ago<br />
or two, three years ago. I have goals from<br />
freshman year that I hope to hit this year,<br />
so that is what always makes me come<br />
back, makes me want more.<br />
What is the best advice you’ve<br />
ever received about the sport?<br />
It was from Tommy Hagerty and Sam<br />
(Salganik), who were on the team last<br />
year. I had a pretty disappointing season.<br />
I had only been swimming for four or five<br />
year competitively, so I have been dropping<br />
a lot of time getting better and better,<br />
but last year I didn’t quite hit the goals I<br />
wanted to and they told me everyday is<br />
a new day, so laugh off that terrible time<br />
and look forward to the opportunity that<br />
every new day and every new practice<br />
gives.<br />
Who is a hero of yours?<br />
There is a guy on my team named Nick<br />
Shectman. He’s been working really hard<br />
and shows Sam (Iida) and I that we need<br />
to work as hard as possible not just because<br />
we are the fastest, but because we<br />
have to lead by example. I want to live up<br />
22nd Century Media File<br />
to the expectations that everyone has for<br />
our team and for myself.<br />
Any pregame rituals or<br />
superstitions?<br />
On the Thursday before a meet I skip<br />
all homework and go to bed as soon as<br />
the pasta party is over. Every Thursday I<br />
go out and buy something from a store.<br />
Before New Trier sophomore year I did<br />
it and I ended up with my season best, so<br />
now every Thursday before a meet I go<br />
out and buy a candy bar or a book, something<br />
random, that I can bring to a meet<br />
and hold on to like a charm.<br />
What is an item on your bucket list?<br />
I read about some river that you can<br />
swim across in the Grand Canyon, so I<br />
want to swim it if I ever have the chance<br />
after college or medical school. What’s<br />
the point of having done swimming after<br />
all these years if I can’t do something cool<br />
like that?<br />
What is one thing you can’t live<br />
without?<br />
5 wintermint chewing gum. It helps<br />
with my nerves and prepping with tests.<br />
In between meets and events, when I am<br />
not eating, I’ll just start chewing gum.<br />
What have you learned from<br />
losing?<br />
I’ve learned through loses there is always<br />
an opportunity to rise above and not<br />
let those past mistakes or even past accomplishments<br />
get ahead. If you do have<br />
a bad swim or have a great swim, don’t<br />
think about that. It’s just you and the water.<br />
Don’t ever think what has happened<br />
but think about what is going to happen<br />
and what is happening right now.<br />
Where do you see yourself in 10<br />
years?<br />
Hopefully I’ll be done with medical<br />
school and either dating or married.<br />
Interview by Assistant Editor Sarah Haider
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