10th Annual Hour of Power Relay
This year's Ted Mullin “Leave it in the Pool” Hour of Power Relay for Sarcoma Research will take place on Tuesday, November 10, 2015 or whatever date works for your program. Registration opens August 1st.
Seth Weidmann, Carthage College Head Men's Swimming Coach explains why the Hour of Power is important to him and his team
I'm proud that Carthage College participates in the Ted Mullin Hour of Power. I'm also proud to be one of the Mullin family’s Ted Reps, to talk about the great guy whose memory we're honoring. honoring.
Ted swam for Carleton at the same time that I swam at Gustavus Adolphus. Ted was also a friend of mine and has come to mind often in my 10 years of coaching. I like to tell people about how Ted was always just as excited as my own teammates when I swam well at our MIAC Championship meet. That really represents the kind of guy Ted was.
My first memory of Ted is from my senior year of high school at Evanston Township. Ted's New Trier had just beaten us at the conference championship (no hard feelings though, we went on to be state and national champions that year. After the meet, the New Trier captains invited some of us over to their post-conference family party.
Now, to understand the historic Evanston - New Trier rivalry, imagine Jason Lezak and Alain Bernard in the 400 Free Relay. Now imagine Lezak walking over to Bernard’s grandma to give her the one-finger salute. Yeah, it was that kind of rivalry, but we accepted the invitation and arrived to some very curious looks. Fortunately, Mario Kart is a universal language and we soon felt very welcome. That was the first time I met Ted and from that point on, almost every time I saw him, he would remind me of how absurd it was that we were there that night.
In college he was the classiest guy in the pool and always so genuinely excited to find and congratulate me after my swims. That enthusiasm was there when I was first starting to coach and I would see Ted at age group meets. Even as he was going through his various phases of treatment he was still helping coach for the New Trier Swim Club. He had such a positive affect on people, and it was reflected in the inspiring time I spent waiting in line at his funeral.
I love seeing the Hour of Power continue to grow. It’s a special way to honor not just a person, but a way of living and enjoying life. We know that it was a highlight of Ted’s swimming career and now it’s a highlight of ours. Ted is certainly deserving of the honor and all participants are fortunate to be part of it.
Please join us for the 10th Annual Ted Mullin “Leave it in the Pool” Hour of Power Relay for Sarcoma Research, Sponsored by Carleton College Swimming and Diving
Registration opens August 1st. Sign-up form and more information available at http://go.carleton.edu/HourOfPower