by By Dan Ninham
Like mother like daughter. Mom Barb and daughter Andrea Kolitsch probably were swimming before they were walking as toddlers. They are continuing to swim in their own generation in different ways.
Andrea’s mom Barb Kolitsch, 53, swam three years in college, and was a national qualifier each year. “I have been coaching since age 16, and started with Special Olympic swimmers,” said mom Barb. “I have coached many state and national champions and many swimmers who have gone on to DI swimming. I’ve also coached professional and elite level triathletes. I still compete in open water races and pulled a special needs athlete in Ironman WI two years in a raft alongside 3000 able-bodied athletes.”
“As one of Andrea’s first coaches I always taught young kids to swim correctly,” said mom Barb. “Some coaches focus on developing cardio and strength, mine was always about swimming efficiently. That how my best coach taught us. He was a stickler for excellence. When she moved out of my young swimmers group she would help me coach that group by pointing out what they were doing wrong so I could correct them.”
Andrea Kolitsch, 27, is a member of the Oneida Nation and is Turtle clan. Her mom and dad are Barb Kolitsch and Rod Dombrowski. The family lives in Kaukauna, Wisconsin.
Andrea was a high school swimmer, and held individual and relay school records.
She represented Team Wisconsin in the North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) in Denver, CO in 2006 and Cowichan, BC in 2008. She earned 12 gold medals and may be the most gold medaled athlete on Team Wisconsin.
Andrea was a school record holder on the swim team at the University Wisconsin La Crosse. She was a conference champion and conference record holder in 100 fly, and conference champion in multiple relays. She was also a conference champion in the 200 fly sophomore year.
She was a NCAA DIII All American in a relay freshman year and a NCAA DIII qualifier both years.
A multi-sport athlete since she was six years old, Andrea was a finisher in two half-Ironman races and two full Ironman in 2015 and 2016. She completed several half marathons and one full marathon.
“Balance in life is most important,” said Andrea. “Being active, learning, eating, and being with people who share values of living a healthy lifestyle. I grew up active, swimming, soccer, bike riding, fun runs, skiing and other fun activities. My college swim coach stressed that we prioritize school while balancing family and our training requirements. Anyone who focuses too much on one thing will eventually burn out, which is why I have never focused on only one sport.”
“Watching sport events and sports history has always inspired me to push myself to be my best,” said Andrea. “USA Hockey Coach Herb Brooks pregame speech in Miracle is a favorite sports inspiration for me. Watching football, baseball, Ironman championships, the Tour De France, etc. have always been inspiring for me.”
“Rich Pein had a huge impact on me as a swimmer,” said Andrea. “He was my coach during my freshman year at UW-La Crosse. I loved swimming for Rich because his coaching style was nothing like I’d ever experienced, and it was refreshing. His workouts were based on max heart rate. He brought science into training. Training was never boring, and I enjoyed every swim meet.”
“In high school, I was really struggling with my love of the sport, but Rich helped me find that again. It was fun swimming for Rich Pein and I was proud to be on his team. He retired after my freshman year, and as much as I wish that he could’ve been my coach for four years, just one year was worth it. He made me want to be the best I could be,” added Andrea.
The Richard L. Pein Natatorium is home to the UW-La Crosse swimming and diving programs. The facility was dedicated in honor of the former head women and men swimming coach in a ceremony October 18, 2014. Coach Pein retired after 30 years at the conclusion of the 2011-12 season.
“Teri DeGrand was my club team coach for Green Bay Swim Club,” said Andrea. “She was a warm and nurturing coach, but at the same time she knew how to push me to swim harder. She was also my supervisor for my first job teaching swimming lessons at the YWCA. I have a lot of good memories with Teri.”
“When I met Andrea she was a young girl very shy, very quiet, with a lot of talent,” said Teri DeGrande, Green Bay Swim Club Head Coach. “As she became comfortable with the other swimmers and myself you could see her confidence grow. She slowly realized that she was an elite swimmer and she could train with the other swimmers even though some were older than her. Through the years when she herself became one of the ‘older’ swimmers she became an excellent role model for the younger swimmers.”
“Andrea also became a lifeguard/swim instructor at the YWCA where I am the Aquatics Director. Again it was amazing watching this young girl pass on the love of swimming to very young children. She had so much patience, and was an excellent motivator. She made learning to swim a fun adventure for her students. She was always a favorite instructor,” added Teri.
“Kurt Kirner was a coach at Lawrence University,” said Andrea. “I went to several Nike swim camps that he ran when I was an age group swimmer. We spent almost as much time on stroke technique as team building and mental toughness activities. Coach Kirner inspired me to be a collegiate athlete. There were many swimmers who were nationally ranked at age 12, which was sometimes discouraging. But Coach Kirner encouraged me by telling me not to peak too early. When you’re a young swimmer, it’s really easy to swim best times in every race at every meet, but my coaches helped me realize that as I got older, my best times would come at the end of my season. I had to develop a lot of dedication and patience for a six-month season.”
“Andrea was a regular at our camp,” said Kurt Kirner, current head women’s swimming and diving coach at Hillsdale College (MI). “She worked very hard from the initial introduction to camp. We always worked on the basic details and she always appeared to have a more enlightened thought-process toward using these skills. Our camp centered on building the physical and psychological tools for optimizing performance. She seemed to take those tools and built a challenge embracing mindset, what I now refer to as a ‘growth mindset’, around her physical skill set. Her mother worked with me through the years and instilled great discipline in her daughter. That type of foundation allowed me to fill in details many kids miss because they don’t have the initial building blocks laid.”
The holistic concept of wellness is based on physical, mental, spiritual and emotional health. Elite athletes need to balance each component to maximize their potential.
“I always enjoyed doing unusual things to help me get stronger like swimming butterfly with rocks in my hands while having fun swimming at our cottage on the bay,” said Andrea.” My high school swim coach had us do kicking sets in the pool with shoes on our feet. It was very hard, and amazing how fast you can feel when you take the shoes off.”
“I really enjoyed swim camp at Lawrence University because the Camp Director Coach Kirner had us participate in team activities, mental toughness, physical challenges, and fun competitions. I love the workouts that push my body the hardest. One of my favorite sets involved swimming four lengths of the pool of each stroke (IM) and after each length, you get out and do a ‘dryland’ exercise like 10 pushups, 30-second wall sit, etc,” added Andrea.
“My freshman year in high school I did an experiment to see if and how visualization could help my success,” said Andrea. “I did a visualization exercise of my strongest race, the 100 yard back. I visualized the race every night and in the visualization after the race I would look up at my time for the race. At sectionals, I won the race with the exact time I visualized, and qualified in the top 8 in the state. It was a good experiment to show how athletes must both mentally and physically train for their sport. Since then, I always used visualization to prepare for my races.”
“I have always enjoyed the outdoors,” said Andrea. “Training in all the sports and activities I like have allowed me to enjoy and connect with the land and water. Last year I walked over 200 miles of the El Camino de Santiago, a pilgrimage in Spain. This year I hoped to finish the pilgrimage, however the pandemic has forced me to cancel that trip.”
“Staring at a black line for hours a day most days a week, for years at a time was very difficult at times,” said Andrea. “You have to have grit to push you through some of the hardest days and stay motivated. Fighting through boredom and physical pain of swimming, or biking 112 miles, or running a marathon has contributed to the grit that I had to compete at a high level and finish school.”
“I don’t swim competitively anymore, but I still try to stay in shape by competing in triathlons and doing open water swims,” said Andrea. “There are a couple races that I try to do every year. My favorite races by far have been doing Ironman triathlons. Naturally I’m a sprinter, so I’m not the best at long distance, but the Ironman community is one of the best. I don’t have plans yet for a third Ironman, but I’m getting the itch to do another.”
“It’s the joy of getting a personal best time or just crossing a finish line that makes all the training worthwhile,” shared Andrea.
Photo Credit: Andrea Kolitsch
