It’s not typical for a coach to find unforeseen talent. It’s also not typical for that talent to contribute to success at the highest level.

ISU coaches Duane Sorenson and Kelly Nordell found just that in Alex Flatness.

“When Alex came in, we knew she was going to be a project because she was fairly successful in high school, but she had a long ways to go to swim at the Division I level,” Sorenson said. “We saw the potential in her and she had a good feel for the water.”

It hasn’t been a short journey to success for Flatness as it took her some time to figure out her abilities at the collegiate level.

“I think freshman year was just about learning and then sophomore year was about building my strength,” Flatness said. “This year, I know what’s going on and everything, so it has been pretty easy to just focus on my technique.”

Flatness is a graphic design major at Iowa State, which makes her schedule difficult to balance with swimming. Not only is it a balancing act, but it also leads to some unique training circumstances.

“This fall on Tuesdays and Thursdays she had to come in and swim late after everybody else had left,” Sorenson said. “She really pushed herself at that time and really made some nice breakthroughs in her training and practice. She really started believing in herself.”

Flatness also mentioned how she dealt with her unique scheduling and the support she had from her coaches.

“Working with Duane has been great,” Flatness said. “[He] and Kelly are really lenient about design and how everything fits with my schedule. It’s been an experience too because I’ve had a lot of practices that I’ve had to do by myself or with just one other swimmer. That’s been a challenge. “

Flatness’ personality and work ethic certainly helped her chances at success at Iowa State.

“I think what makes us excited about her swimming so well is her youthfulness,” Nordell said. “She is so energetic and so excited herself when she does well. She’s the one that has a huge smile and she’s an extremely hard worker.”

Nordell also mentioned that Flatness has not only become a great competitor for her team, but that she is a bit of a comedian.

“I have to say too, she can be quite funny,” Nordell said. “She always has pretty good one-liners to put into practice. It’s been exciting for us as coaches to watch her, especially being a local kid, progress into being a potential scorer.”

Flatness has used all her attributes to achieve her greatest success at Iowa State, obtaining personal bests and fulfilling a dream.

“It was kind of a surprise, but after the first relay I knew it was going to be a good meet and everything,” Flatness said. “Being on the A relay is something I’ve always wanted to be on and that was like a little dream come true, so that was great.”

Continuing to improve as a swimmer and sharing her personality with others will be Flatness’ goals as she continues her career at Iowa State.

“She’s just done exceedingly well this year,” Nordell said. “She’s progressed each year, and obviously she’s going to continue to have a stellar year this year.”