The Iowa State women’s swim team is wading its way through many changes and transitions this season.

“We have a new coach and 12 new team members this year,” Bronwen Benbow, one of the team captains, said. “There seems to be a better positive attitude because of all the changes.”

Coach Duane Sorenson’s presence has been a catalyst for many of the changes.

“It is a different team from last year,” Sorenson said. “We are really trying to work on being more of a family that is supporting each other.”

Sorenson said his coaching philosophy is nurturing an athlete’s self-esteem and performance ability through building strength, ascertaining and developing realistic and challenging goals, discovering motivation and instilling a strong work ethic.

With this philosophy, he hopes the team becomes a contender in the Big 12 Conference within three years.

“Recruiting is also a factor in becoming a contender in the conference,” Sorenson said. “I would like to recruit about three swimmers from Iowa, three or so swimmers from the upper-Midwest and one or two blue-chips nationally.”

Sorenson came to ISU after the serving as coach of the South East Metro Sharks Swim Club, Inc. in Minneapolis, Minn., where he began work in 1979 after college.

Sorenson did his undergraduate and graduate work at Bemidji State University in physical education and science. He also swam competitively for the university from 1973-78.

During his last year with the Sharks, the 1996-97 season, he trained 14 swimmers who competed in Division I university swim programs, six who went to the Division II level and thirteen who went to Division III teams.

Sorenson received Coach of the Year Awards from the American Swimming Coaches Association (Minnesota Chapter) in ’87, ’89, ’90, ’95 and ’97.

He said the biggest difference between coaching a university team and a club team is the support staff. Not only did he write the workouts for the club team, he was counselor, athletic trainer and support staff for his swimmers. As club coach, he was the chief executive who made all the decisions for the team. Now, he said, he is not responsible for doing all of those things.

Sorenson was hired over the summer to fill the coaching vacancy left by Ramsey Van Horn. Van Horn coached the team since 1979.

A-Lisa Miles, a sophomore in English and psychology, swam for 11 years on Sorenson’s club team. She transferred from Ohio State University to ISU to resume swimming under Sorenson.

“He is like a third parent,” Miles said. “Except I joke around with him and play jokes on him more than my parents would take.”

“Coaching is a pleasure,” Sorenson said. “I get to focus on the small group of 19 swimmers and seven divers, compared to 100+ swimmers on a club team.”

Brooke Larsen, a junior in elementary education, said she feels Sorenson has been really easy to adjust to.

“When he says something, you know that he means it,” Larsen said. “It is a trust factor. I know he cares.”