Erick Dornseif

By Shawna Carpentier
UWRF Sports Information

Erick Dornseif did not plan on swimming in college; in fact, swimming was not a part of his life until his junior year in high school.

At first Dornseif swam for the friendships and to stay in shape for baseball. But now, he swims for the love of the sport. "I wasn't sure at first, it was hard, but I kept going, " he says.

"I had my heart set on baseball but I found out that UWRF dropped it."

So far, his swimming career has been "a lot of work," but it "pays off in the end," says Dornseif.

At Mounds View High School, Dornseif swam the 100 backstroke, 100 and 50 free and was in the 400 free relay. Although he was new to the sport, it did not stop him from lettering and placing first in all but the 100 backstroke (in which he placed second) at the junior varsity sectionals.

"It has been a blast," says Dornseif about his experience as a collegiate swimmer. Dornseif transferred to River Falls from Century Community College where he swam for two years.  

Falcon Coach Bill Henderson says, "Erick is a hard working, team kind of person."

Last season Dornseif qualified for the finals in the 200 backstroke at the WIAC championships. He added his name to the Top 10 Falcon times in that event, dropping 30 seconds off his best time to finish with in 5:31. Dornseif could not figure out why Henderson was "going crazy." Henderson had told him "don't try to swim too fast, you're already fast," before he started the race at the WIAC Meet. So, Dornseif just swam the race and finished with one of his best memories; something he "jumped up and down and screamed about."  

In order to prepare for the physical and mental toughness he needs to use in meets, Dornseif does a few things before he swims. He puts together a new "meet mix" for every meet and listens to his I-pod while doing 15 minutes of yoga before he swims. If it is a home meet, he walks to the River Falls High School pool where the meets are held. Other than that Dornseif does a lot of "laughing" and "talking" before he swims.

To improve his swimming technique Dornseif watches Olympic gold medalists Lenny Krazelberg and Aaron Peirsol. Both Krazelberg and Peirsol are "backstrokers" and Dornseif believes they are "great personalities."

Even though he has to work "extremely hard," Dornseif is addicted to swimming and has begun to believe that he does more than promote UWRF swimming through word of mouth. "I am some days a walking advertisement; I have a lot of swimming apparel."

He advises that people become involved in swimming even if they have no knowledge of it. "There is always a starting point."  

For Dornseif the satisfaction of implementing a hard work ethic and building friendships is a contribution of the team atmosphere swimming creates. "The friendships are forever; I haven't forgotten about one friend from swimming," he stated.

As much as Dornseif loves swimming it is two hours of his life on average days. School is Dornseif's priority. He manages to balance his dedication to school and commitment to swimming "very carefully." Dornseif also has the responsibility of managing his floor as a resident assistant at McMillan Hall.  

Dornseif is currently pursuing a degree in art with an emphasis in secondary education. "I love all aspects of art," he says. And, with "1,000 useless Superman facts," he has a fondness for the super hero.

"I'm a pretty easy guy to get a long with, I can talk with people and I'm helpful," says Dornseif. He likes to help people solve problems and refers to himself as a "problem solver." Beyond his passions of playing guitar, his family and friends and baseball, Dornseif plans to one day be a youth minister.  

Dale Stiles, Dornseif's former youth minister, inspired him to pursue the path. Dornseif was at a 7 th grade retreat as a "SALT" leader when he realized that youth ministry was something he wanted to do.

If Dornseif could, he would start his future or as he says "life" right now. He wants to start teaching and build his own home on his own land anywhere but in a big city. Dornseif has many goals   - among them to "be a good artist, person, friend, husband and teacher."  

As far as his future with swimming, Dornseif would enjoy coaching. "Swimming is hard work but fun."

He is the son of Jim and Teresa Dornseif and older brother to Joshua and Chad.