Moore to Say

~A legend steps aside~

-By Mike Moore-

ALBION – It was a cool fall night. A dark sky surrounded the athletic complexes at Albion College. Another Tuesday had come and gone, and as the clock slowly crept closer to 10 p.m., another week of stories slowly crawled to completion.

There was one still missing, however.

The Albion High School girls swim team, with a competition that night away from home, had yet to return to school, yet to report the final results.

Quite simply, a phone call could have been placed at some point after school Wednesday and a shortened version of the story and how the team did would have made its way into Thursday’s paper.

Sure, not as many kids would have been recognized and the full details of the win may have been left out due to time constraints, but the story would have life.

But before the computer could be shut down that night, before the final light turned off and the towel thrown in, here came a car into the back parking lot. Emerging from the driver’s side was a passionate coach, smile on face, results in hand.

“I want our girls to get in the paper,” she said, fighting off a yawn. “They swam so well tonight.”

The girls got in the paper, the story got done, and at some point that night, Mary Ann Egnatuk sat down and rested.

The one and only

It began in 1975. A young women, with a passion for swimming, assumed the role of head coach with the Albion swim teams. Some 33 years later, to the chagrin of many, Egnatuk has coached her final swim meet, she’s held her final practice, celebrated at her final banquet.

“This wasn’t a decision I’ve been looking forward to, or one I had much choice in,” Egnatuk said last week, after her team’s banquet. “I’ve wanted to get my masters degree for a long time. I’ve been putting it off and putting it off. It’s time for me, where I just have to get to class and earn it.”

As she spoke, Egnatuk paused quite frequently, collecting her thoughts and fighting back emotion. This decision was about as easy as one of the pre-dawn practices she routinely put her teams through.

She heads into retirement as the best swim coach the school has ever known, but what she’ll ultimately be known for has little to do with her longevity, but instead the passion she not only had for the sport, but for each and every kid that ever called her “coach.”

“Her coaching speaks for itself, but she did so many more things and that’s what sometimes gets overlooked,” said Albion cross country and track coach Mike Jurasek, who’s spent 22 years at Albion with Egnatuk. “She goes above and beyond for each one of her kids, even the staff and community. Part of what makes her so great has little to do with coaching.”

“This job has always been about watching children growing up to be great people,” Egnatuk explained. “I’ve never wanted this to be about me. Truthfully, I’m probably the best and worst swim coach the school has ever known.”

An unmistakable passion

Here’s an obvious statement for you, the reader – me the writer, never once swam for or learned swim techniques from Egnatuk. What’s even more obvious, however, from me, the writer, was the passion Egnatuk had for the job she did. Each and every night we talked, the times and names of results may have been slightly different, the quotes, though, well, those I kept on file and just hit the paste button.

“The guys swam so well tonight,” she would often say.

“We may not have won this one, but I’m so proud of how well the girls battled,” was another.

No matter the team, season or result, it was nothing but pride that spewed from her words. Win or lose, she was always proud. If a win was on hand, her pride centered on how well her team fought and clawed to earn it. If it was second place or worse, well, the result had nothing to do with effort or performance.

Our conversations were rarely quick.

Often she’d go through the entire lineup, not only mentioning the guys and gals that finished first, but the ones that were fifth or sixth, qualifying it with a, “you should have seen how well they swam,” or “I can’t believe the time drop he had.”

Egnatuk entered every practice, event and conversation with a love for what she was doing and who she was coaching.

“I think it comes from being coached by great coaches,” Egnatuk said, justifying her passion. “When I look back at my high school career and even younger, I had so many great coaches. I’ve taken the best of them and helped make myself a better coach.

“You know what, every kid I’ve coached has made me better as well. They’ve given me gifts, helped me improve. They say coaches mold athletes. Truthfully, I think I’ve been molded by them.”

It’s going to be weird in the future, making a phone call to hear about the Albion swim teams, and the voice on the opposite end not being the excited one of Egnatuk.

Then again, as she quits coaching to head back to the classroom, something tells me it’s not a permanent change. I’ve only known her three or four years, but the itch to coach, the desire to be at the pool…well, something tells me it’s too strong to keep away from.

“For now I’m done,” Egnatuk said with a laugh. “But I can’t rule out a return. This is what I do. This is what I love.”