Personal Watercraft Insurance, The Ultimate Program
Last year’s collegiate national jump and overall champ, Zack Worden, soars over Bayou Desiard located right in the heart of the ULM campus.
Homework? Check. Textbooks? Check. Water skis, swim trunks, sunscreen? Check, check, check. If you happened to be one of the lucky few on the renowned University of Louisiana at Monroe water ski team, your day might look something like this: (1) Wake up. Shake off grogginess from last night’s partying. (2) Scoot on down to campus to pull a quick slalom set before attending Brit Lit 2420 in the admin building. (3) Eat lunch out of a sack at the student union, have a quick study sesh with classmates for an upcoming econ quiz, and then head back to the boat for some tricking before the sun sets on another day of your college career.
It’s OK to be jealous. I imagine that just about every other college skiing program in the country envies ULM’s success. In terms of competitive collegiate water skiing, ULM is essentially unrivaled. From its beginnings in ULM student-athlete Frank Ingram’s backyard, in 1978, to 23 national championships spanning three decades, no other school has been as dominant behind the boat — and ULM shows no signs of stopping.
Want to know what makes it even more impressive? There’s no coach. That’s right — the skiers coach themselves. Of course, when you have near-pro or soon-to-be pro skiers in your program, that might not be a bad thing. In fact, the level of skiing is so high at ULM, the program attracts athletes from all over the world. Twenty-two year- old British senior Will Oliver is a case in point. “One great thing about ULM is I can ski year round,” says Oliver, who has been skiing since he was 4. “You can’t do that back home, and we don’t have collegiate- or university-level skiing in England. I definitely ski harder and train more competitively in the U.S.” And given Oliver’s desire to have a career in pro water skiing, he couldn’t be in a better place. ULM’s program has produced several pro skiers: Ryan Dodd, Natallia Berdnikava, Freddy Krueger, Regina Jaquess and Thomas Degasperi have all graced Bayou Desiard with their high-level talent. And with the bayou practice and tournament area running directly through the middle of campus, the ski team is highly visible. Especially when the team gets a brand-new MasterCraft Pro Star 197 every year. “It’s the most visible program on campus,” says Tyler Scott, a junior skier who grew up just down the street, in Covington, Louisiana. “If you’re on campus, you know about the ski team. you’ll see us practicing all day. Oliver concurs. “Teachers work with us when we have to miss class for a tournament, and the new university president, Dr. Nick Bruno, has really helped get the program some recognition.”
For students like Tyler Scott, who won the slalom event at collegiate nationals last year, it’s a dream come true — a chance to ski while getting your education paid for. Even though Scott grew up skiing competitively and knew about ULM’s ski team his entire life, his main reason for being at ULM is the pharmacy school, one of the university’s most prestigious programs. Scott and the rest of the team pay for their books, housing and meals, but their tuition is covered by athletic scholarships. What’s it like for other schools to ski against a program whose university sets aside $1.50 of every student’s tuition for the ski team? John Mommer, graduate of rival program University of Louisiana at Lafayette and marketing director for HO Sports, recalls going head-to head with the Warhawks. “They were always really good, and they had such a deep team,” he says. “And while they are very well funded, that doesn’t make the difference — it’s their team cohesion.”
Of course, all the attention means that the pressure is on — and the team knows it. What does that mean? practice, practice, practice — even without a coach. “The boat is pretty much running from daybreak to dusk, every day of the week,” Scott says. “you learn who on the team you like to ski with, and pair off for hour-long practice sessions with three or four people. Everyone on the team has been skiing so long, so we help each other tune up our game.” Many of the three-event skiers practice three times a day, three days a week or more — and that’s on top of gym time, class and, of course, road trips. Team manager Triena Landrum coordinates the travel and accommodations for tournaments. The team frequently piles into the athletic department’s 15-passenger van to travel when a tournament is within driving range. “Definitely some memories there,” Oliver says, laughing. “There’s been quite a few singalongs !” Of course, driving the van and booking hotels isn’t Landrum’s only job. She also helps arrange scholarships, helps the team work with teachers to make up schoolwork, and helps international skiers like Oliver adjust to life in the States. Oliver laughs thinking back to his first few months here. “I thought it would be easy, because it was the same language,” he says, with a very obvious British accent. “But I didn’t understand anyone with a Louisiana drawl for months.”
