Olivia Leonard '24 Recruiting Profile

Hi! My name is Olivia Christine Leonard and I will be a graduate in 2024. It has taken me a while to just think about what I am looking for in my next journey of schooling as well as swimming.  In regard to swimming, I have 3 objectives that are nonnegotiables. Coach's training style, team interaction, and learning how my studies and swim will be worked within a schedule. I will explain all 3 objectives. 

1.) Coaching Style- I am looking for a coach that will be on deck to watch practices, and work on technique- correcting even the small mistakes that can improve speed and strength training. I believe it's extremely important to be able to give constructive criticism- this is how I will become a better swimmer. 

Secondly, 

Lastly, I am looking for a team that will embrace and support each other. Family is very important to me and is something that I am looking for in my future college team.  I am very passionate about the sport and want to do whatever I can to make myself and my team both proud and successful.

I am looking for a program that will help me grow and maximize my potential to be a better athlete. This can be done in multiple ways. One of them is hitting the gym/weights/cardio, especially since we don’t do that in our high school. So strength training should bring me to another competitive level. 

I would also like to tell you about some of my pros and cons. 

Cons-* I know that my starts can be better. * 

Pros- *I have really good time management skills, I don't wait until the last minute to finish an assignment. I actually start on assignments right away and finish with plenty of time to spare.  This way there are no surprises. * I am a kind person who tends to be able to fit into many different crowds. *I am a leader by nature. I was swimmer of the year in 2020 as well as being a team captain for 2 years in a row. I am a good teacher- I am currently in peer tutoring for two of my classes as well as helping in training other swimmers. For example, I was asked by Coach Burgees who is also the guy's swimming coach, to teach the boys my turn. *A thinker-  I do flip-turns during the IM. I talked to my Coach during my 10th-grade year and asked him if I could practice turns in the IM. He had not trained in that style yet but allowed me to practice this. After he saw me do it for a few days, I trained my fellow teammates along with some of the boy's team. 

Academics

My current GPA is: 3.979

Achievements: 

-Team captain- 2 years

-3 years MVP- 8th, 10th and 11th

-All conference- 5 years

-Section champ: breaststroke (2x). 200 IM (x4) Medley Relay(x3) 4 free relay (x1). 2 free relay (x3)

-Section 1A swimmer of the year-9th grade

-Big Nine champ- Brest stroke and IM 2019 and Breaststroke 2018

-Made state since 7th grade in 2 relays and 2 individual events

-Stood on podium 6x at state. Breaststroke (x2), 200 IM (x2) and Medley relay (x2) 

-All-around swimmer: Competitive in all strokes

-School record holder in Breast Stroke achieved in 8th grade

-Pool record holder in different pools in our section

-#1 swimmer in Mankato last 4 years

-National Honor Society

-Link Crew