Field Trip: New St. Thomas pool

[El Capitan]

Wanted to post a quick few tidbits on the new St. Thomas Pool.

First a brief intro: I'm a '99 UST Grad and am on the Alumni Association board there, which is why I had a chance to tour the new athletic facility. The entire facility is pretty amazing, but for the sake of this post we'll focus on the pool. For the most part it's just like the old St. Thomas pool, except EXACTLY the opposite.

The pool will be 8 lanes -- 8 1/2 feet wide. There will be a diving well that will be separated by a removable wall (if I heard that correctly) - Diving well is 14' deep.

The entire swimming pool will be the same depth - 8 1/2 feet. The focus was to make this the fastest pool possible, consistent depth, they created a "spillover field" around the pool that will allow the water height to remain the same (it spills over the wall and immediately goes to the bottom as opposed to collecting on the walls / creating wake) and to push the "turbulence" down to the bottom of the pool. I'm not a physics major by any means so a lot of the science talk flew over my head but it seemed to make sense.

The deck area is pretty huge - not U of M huge of course but seems pretty substantial. The viewing area is pretty awesome, there are actually two "decks" of bleachers, one right on top of the other. I believe I heard them say there was seating capacity for 400+ fans. The whole of the pool area is about three stories high, it seemed like the ceiling was as high if not higher than the U of M Aquatic Center in relation to the pool.

They are going to have a 10' x 15' video board for results, scoring, and to show video clips of diving and the swims themselves. Not sure exactly how that will all work out (never seen video incorporated in with a swimming timing system) but it sounds incredible.

Coach Hodgson also replied to my Facebook thread and added that the concrete has mostly been poured and that the deck should be ready for tiling in the near future. He also mentioned having "second generation" relay takeoff pads and touchpads at both ends - confirming that the timing system from Colorado Timing should be state of the art. Also mentioned the diving area deck is heated and there are crash bubblers under both boards, also a shower in the corner as opposed to whirlpool or sauna.

The UST CFO giving the tour mentioned that a goal for the facility is to have every metro area HS Section meet at this pool. Logistically that sounds difficult since they are usually right around the same time, but a good goal to have for recruiting purposes, want to get as many local HS swimmers who might be looking at the MIAC to get a chance to swim at the facility.

All in all it sounds great, I think people will enjoy seeing it when it's done and watching meets there this coming year. I have pics if anyone's interested but so far it's just the walls and windows (which are pretty cool), a lot of dirt and a big hole, not too terribly much to see.

[Mac of the MIAC]

Thanks for the update. I'm looking forward to seeing the pool myself at the start of the season. It sounds like the pool is going to make for a huge recruiting advantage if they indeed are hosting sections there. That's a pretty smart move by the AD.

[Monti]

Thanks for the update. I'm looking forward to seeing the pool myself at the start of the season. It sounds like the pool is going to make for a huge recruiting advantage if they indeed are hosting sections there. That's a pretty smart move by the AD.

sections meets for both boys and girls are all held on pretty much the same dates. I think the most 1 pool could host would be 2 section meets at once, and that is with one going in the morning and the other at night, pretty much how the U runs A and AA state on the same dates.

how many metro sections are there? 5? 6? I think only sections 1, 7, and 8 are not really metro, with 1 and 7 being borderline metro. that does not count the splitting up of A and AA.

[caveman12]

Thanks for the update. I'm looking forward to seeing the pool myself at the start of the season. It sounds like the pool is going to make for a huge recruiting advantage if they indeed are hosting sections there. That's a pretty smart move by the AD.

sections meets for both boys and girls are all held on pretty much the same dates. I think the most 1 pool could host would be 2 section meets at once, and that is with one going in the morning and the other at night, pretty much how the U runs A and AA state on the same dates.

how many metro sections are there? 5? 6? I think only sections 1, 7, and 8 are not really metro, with 1 and 7 being borderline metro. that does not count the splitting up of A and AA.

At the moment, 6 of the class AA sections are held in the metro area, and the class A sections are currently expanding from 4 to 8 sections. I'm not sure how many of these class A sections are going to be held in the metro area but let's assume it'll be 2. Assuming the 2 metro class A sections guess is correct, there will be 8 total sections.

Sections are held with the Wednesday prelims/Friday finals or Thursday prelims/Saturday finals. Assuming the MSHSL approves these meets being held during the school day, you could get up to 4 sections competing at this pool. Also, there are now true-team sections, so you could possibly have the other 4 sections using this pool for this meet; 2 meets on Fri and 2 more on Sat. So potentially, all 8 metro sections could be using this pool at least one time each year.

Also, I've heard multiple times from multiple sources that Dennis Dale complains every year about both state meets being held at "his" pool. So this could maybe mean one of these state meets, probably true team, be held at UST as well. This will get the majority of the schools in the state competing in the pool. WOW!

I'm very excited to see how this pool turns out.

[silentp]

How much does a pool actually help recruiting? It's great that these high school swimmers will swim in the pool, but does that translate into kids going to school there? I know the pool wasn't on my list of priorities, unless it was just awful (like St. Thomas's was, so it's a nice improvement). It helps a ton with actual training.

Who do most St. Thomas kids also look at when picking a school?

[Mac of the MIAC]

The U of M
St. Johns
St. Kates
St. Mary's
Notre Dame
Loyola

[babwik]

How much does a pool actually help recruiting? It's great that these high school swimmers will swim in the pool, but does that translate into kids going to school there?

Hamline has a really nice track, and I think hosts the state track meet every year or every few years. Their track teams are by far the most successful programs at the school. I think having a facility that hosts states makes playing/swimming at that school seem like a bigger deal. Also, it's great to get a ton of swimmers on campus, to at least put your school on their radar.

[Chapel Partner]

Thanks for the update El Capitan... but no hot tub? Terrible.

I'd add Marquette to the list of schools UST competes with. Pretty much any Catholic school in the midwest, and most MIAC schools in general.

Will UST start hosting summer swim camps too?

[Monti]

the average kid looking at UST isn't that cathoic or different than the average kid looking at GAC and Olaf. UST's religion class requirements are not that strict. More strict than GAC? yes, but not so much that it makes or breaks a kid's decision. UST, GAC and Olaf are going to be going more head to head for recruits. In the end, it comes down to how much money a school is willing/able to give to a recruit.

[Mac of the MIAC]

I disagree. UST's primary source of recruits is Catholic based organizations.

You don't look at Olaf, Carleton, Mac... and UST. The academics just don't match and UST's price is significant.

Good point on Marquette, Chapel. Forgot that school. Still, UST pulls mostly from MN. I think it is higher than 80%.

[El Capitan]

I disagree. UST's primary source of recruits is Catholic based organizations.

You don't look at Olaf, Carleton, Mac... and UST. The academics just don't match and UST's price is significant.

Good point on Marquette, Chapel. Forgot that school. Still, UST pulls mostly from MN. I think it is higher than 80%.

I think it's hard to put a "box" around the typical UST recruit - I do realize I was outside of the norm myself (Lutheran, Public HS) but I didn't feel like I didn't fit just based on that (and in my case, I was looking at the U, Iowa State, UW-Eau Claire, Drake - AND Olaf. No other Catholic schools).

Historically the top "feeder" schools for UST are Cretin, Holy Angels, and Hill-Murray among Catholic schools and then it seems pretty spread out among public schools (with bigger public schools like EPHS and Wayzata sending more than say a smaller outstate school of course). Mac is right - I'd say about 2/3rds of the students are from MN.

If this is really of interest to people on the board I'd be happy to compile more info direct from the UST Admissions office so we aren't just throwing speculation out there.

I would agree with Mac that the average UST prospect is not necessarily looking at Mac and Carleton but I'm not sure it has to do with "the level of academics", more the programs offered and the reputation of those programs (UST is thought more for the business programs (which are very good) and not as much for the traditional "liberal arts" aspects that Carleton and Mac are renowned for).

I guess in summary UST might be at the point that it might be tough to pigeonhole "the typical UST recruit" because of its size - if that makes sense?

[Mac of the MIAC]

I applied to Oxford and the Sorbonne. Gustavus was my safety school.

I agree that UST has a pretty unique niche. They appeal to kids with average academics looking to have a good career in business. And they are actually really good at delivering on that. I think about 50% of graduates, like you said, have a business major. My point was that they spend their recruiting dollars largely at Catholic high schools.

[Sundance]

UST doesn't have to compete with Marquette for swim recruits- the Golden Eagles don't have a men's swim team.

[openwater]

The point about specific majors and programs is a good one. Marquette has a dental program for instance and that was the selling point for one recent outstanding WI high school senior who chose that program over a school that would have allowed him to continue to swim. The practical, pre-business, actuarial training at UST is a big deal for a lot of incoming students (or at least their parents who want to increase the chances they won't move back home in 4 years). Solid argument and path for those kids who don't seek the diversity, study abroad, explore myself approach of some of the other MIAC, WIAC, etc schools.

[Nashland]

The point about specific majors and programs is a good one. Marquette has a dental program for instance and that was the selling point for one recent outstanding WI high school senior who chose that program over a school that would have allowed him to continue to swim.

Sam Stone? 141/439

Marquette does have a club team but its really nothing compared to an actual team.