Since 1995 the Clark University Swim and Dive Teams have worked continuously to ensure that they were more than just a team, but a family. With the installment of various traditions and bonding techniques, the swim and dive team have done just that. 

In 1975, Clark University alumni Wally Hallas (‘73) returned to Clark’s campus as head coach to the men’s basketball team. 

 Five years later, Hallas became the athletic director. The Hallas Era is now known to be the “golden age” of Clark athletics. According to ClarkNOW, Hallas not only expanded Clark’s trophy case, but the department’s offerings as a whole. During Hallas’ time as athletic director the university introduced several varsity sports for the first time; one of the sports being men’s and women’s swimming and diving.  

A lot has changed since the introduction of Clark’s swimming and diving teams. In 1995 Clark joined the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC). Coincidentally  the same year the conference held their very first swim and dive championship. Also in the same year, the Kneller Athletic Center was established, becoming home to the teams’ 6 lane, 25-yard pool. 

While the coaches, athletes, and facilities of the team have fluctuated over the years, the swim and dive teams have found a way to remain bonded overtime. Referring to themselves as CUSDF (Clark University Swim and Dive Family) the swim and dive teams see themselves as more than just a team. Rather, members of CUSDF are bonded to each other, regardless of when they graduated.  

“We refer to ourselves as a family instead of a team, because we are a support system to one another, in and out of the pool”, stated Amelia Kulzer (‘26), current member of CUSDF. 

Current Head Coach Paul E. Phillips ensures that the concept of family remains a focus of the team, staying in contact with alumni regardless of whether or not he led them during their time at Clark.  

Scott Hindley (‘85) shares, “I am a long-time alumni…I was able to reconnect with the team the last 15-20 years that I have known Coach Paul.” 

As a family, the teams have developed several traditions that assist them to not only bond with one another, but instill a set of values that have been replicated with each generation of athletes that join the teams.  

While certain details of traditions may have altered over time, alumni and current members of the teams reflect on their enjoyment partaking in various CUSDF traditions, and how doing so made their years at Clark even more memorable.  

Fall Intersquad Meets: Red v. Black and Alumni 

To kick off the season, CUSDF holds two intersquad meets in the fall. The first is “Red v. Black”.  

Sarah Kersting-Mumm (‘24) states, “Red v. Black is an intersquad meet at the beginning of the season used to practice, meet traditions and expectations, and encourage bonding.”

During the Red v. Black meet, the team is split into two teams and races one another as they would at a regular season meet. This is, for the freshman, a way to expose them to the expectations of swimming at a collegiate level.  

This is a treasured tradition for CUSDF that has gone on for over a decade. Nora Swartwout (‘05) shared, “We always had fun with this!” 

The Alumni meet serves a similar purpose to the Red v. Black meet, allowing the team to practice with one another in a meet format before beginning the season. However, the alumni meet differs in the fact that all alumni are invited back to the Kneller to swim with the current team. 

When asked to recall CUSDF traditions, the alumni meet is the first one Brandon Shafer (‘20) shared, “[The] alumni meet is held each October, and is where alumni are invited back to swim”. 

 Other alum, such as Quinn Mitchel (‘19) also reflected highly on memories from the alumni meets stating, “At alumni meets you’ll see alumni jumping in to give old teammates and current members TLs of their own.” 

The intersquad meets are traditions of CUSDF that allow the team to bond with one another while also practicing their skills in the pool. They also serve as a reunion of sorts, allowing alumni to return to the pool and connect with current members of CUSDF. Hindley shared that the alumni meet was his favorite CUSDF tradition stating, “The alumni swim meet is for me the best one. I was able to reconnect with the team.” 

Secret Psycher 

While the men’s and women’s members of CUSDF share various traditions with one another, there is one tradition that is explicitly only amongst the women’s teams.  

Denoted “Secret Psycher”, this tradition entails assigning each member a person on the team to “psych up” during the season. This is done by gifting the member their favorite snacks, notes, etc. The psychers are kept a secret throughout the season, and revealed at the last meet of the year. 

Swartwout explains, “[We] would choose names and provide little gifts or make posters for our person throughout the season, like a secret Santa.”

Members of the women’s teams cherish this tradition, passing it on throughout generations. Current member Sydney Kochensparger (‘25) shares, “I don’t really have a specific memory surrounding [secret psycher] but it’s always fun at the end of the year when we all reveal who we are to our secret psycher, and you can find out who’s been behind all of the cute little gifts from the season” 

Chrystena Ewen (‘96) has even continued the tradition outside of CUSDF, sharing “I hope [they] all still do it! It was so much fun and I do it now with my own high school team.”  

Training Trip 

The Winter Break training trip is a shared tradition across many of the sports at Clark. Typically, a team will travel to FL or Puerto Rico to partake in intense training and, at times, competing against other teams in the area. While Hindley recalls his training trips taking place in Fort Lauderdale, FL, the team has recently voyaged to San Juan, Puerto Rico, in past years. 

While the training trip entails long days in an Olympic sized pool, members of the team reflect positively on the overall experience.  

Mickael “Mick” Chertov (‘15) shares, “Puerto Rico training trip was always a good time, despite the intense training. Just being out with the whole team was always cool.”

The trip allows the team to bond with one another in a different setting, taking them outside of their comfort zone in order to share experiences with one another. Mike Smith ‘09 shares, “I’d say my favorite tradition we have is the hike we did every year in El Yunque National Forest. Particularly one year where we did a vlog of that entire day, and another year when it was raining the entire time. It was always memorable and remains a highlight of my training trips.”  

Training trip holds a number of traditions such as the hike Smith reflected on, as well as “bucket and distance sets”; Emma Bulman (‘20) shares, “[We were] literally swimming with a bucket attached to us dragging through the water”, and senior dinners with the coaches. During the dinners seniors are able to reflect on their time as a member of CUSDF with their coaches, and discuss the season. As a whole, the training trip allows for even more bonding between teammates, making memories and building their strength in and outside of the pool.  

TL 

Probably the most adored tradition of CUSDF is the sharing of “TL’s”. When asked for a definition of TL, Kulzer explained “There isn’t really a definition. People hypothesize what it might mean such as ‘team love’ but it is generally just a way to share appreciation.”  

The concept of TL’s is to show teammates that their hard work and dedication has been acknowledged and appreciated. For example, one member of the team may say to another “TL for all the long distance swims you did this season!” or “TL for being such a good friend.” Bulman explains, “It’s a kind and easy way to support your teammates and you can give them at any time for anything, sometimes it’s been used as a greeting or a goodbye. It has a deep yet unexplainable meaning that’s engrained in who and what CUSDF is.” 

Many alumni of the team share that TLs was an instrumental part of their CUSDF experience. Mitchel states, “The whole idea of TL’s is something I love about CUSDF, it is something that really represents us and brings everyone together, no matter how long ago they graduated.” 

Katie Murphy (‘10) shares that TL’s were her favorite tradition and helped her feel welcomed as a freshman on the team, “Coming up with something nice to say about someone on the team after the meets gave a sense of belonging to everyone! I remember it was scary at first as a freshman, but I saw how everyone supported each other, and the upperclassmen often made an effort to intentionally give TLs to new members, which made the team feel like a family.”

The practice of sharing TL’s with one another has been replicated throughout generations of CUSDF members. Swartout shares, “I loved the addition of TL. It still happens today, 20 years later. It’s nice to reflect positively on meets even if the outcomes didn’t go your way.” 

For the last meet of the season, the NEWMAC Championship meet, each member of the team receives their own personal TL poster, covered in notes from their teammates sharing their appreciation for one another. TLs remind the athletes that they can rely on one another and that their hard work has paid off, even if scores do not reflect it.    

More Than Just a Team 

When Hallas expanded the athletic department at Clark to include men’s and women’s swimming and diving, he probably did not expect the program to grow into the network that it now is. Through the traditions that the teams replicate such as, TL’s, psychers, trips, practice meets, and more, the teams showcase their commitment to each other and the past generations of swimmers and divers that came before them. So, when the team refers to themselves as the Clark University Swim and Dive Family, it makes sense, because that’s what they are: a family.