This training trip season, Dan Schemmel is staying put. You would too if you were the new head coach of the Hawaii men's and women's swim teams. After spending five seasons at Wisconsin as an assistant and coaching notable All-Americans, Schemmel now has his own show. FloSwimming caught up with Schemmel during this training trip season, as many other teams from across the United States now find themselves in HIS pool.

FloSwimming: So, a Midwestern guy finds himself in Hawaii. What was the biggest adjustment?
Schemmel: Thankfully I had been here a few times before, so I had a pretty good understanding of what to expect. With that said, I think the biggest adjustment has been being surrounded by the variety of cultures here on the island. It is a very diverse community, and I've had a lot of fun learning about and immersing myself into cultures I've never experienced before.

What is the most important thing you learned at Wisconsin before coming to Hawaii?
The importance of accountability. Whether it be holding yourself accountable or those around you, it's an incredibly important life lesson and skill to have.

Give us your current philosophy in six words or fewer:
Trust the process.

Tell us a little bit about how you help your athletes balance swimming, academics, and all of the possible extra-curricular activities in Hawaii.
I'd say the most important thing we do when approaching the proper balance between swimming, school, and life, is communicate. Our situation is a bit unique in that we're on a tropical island. We stress to everyone to take advantage of the opportunities (hiking, surfing, snorkeling, exploring) Hawaii offers to escape the monotony of the typical student-athlete life but not to overindulge. I think our staff does an exceptional job of reaching out and communicating with everyone on the team to offer any guidance if needed or just to be hear what else is going on in their lives.

What are some new traditions that you're trying to establish at Hawaii?
We haven't really established any new traditions, yet, but we have built on some. The men's team had traveled to their conference meet in aloha shirts in the past to bring the aloha spirit with them, which we thought was an awesome idea. Some of the team proposed we do it every time we travel, so we have done that. I've even started to wear them when I travel on my own.  

As a team, do you do much training or exercise in the ocean? On the beach?
We have had a few ocean workouts and plan on pursuing more as we get more familiar with the island. We have to plan around the surf, distance, school, jellyfish, etc., so we can't just drop what we're doing and pop into the ocean with 50 people. We have participated in a few open water races around the island, which were a lot of fun!



Inform the FloSwimming community about malasadas (pictured above with the UH coaching staff).
Oh man, what can I say about malasadas? I want to make sure I do them justice. Imagine a donut hole the size of a baseball but softer and five times more delicious. They come in a bunch of different flavors: cinnamon/sugar, li hing mui powder (made from dried plums, sweet and salty) chocolate custard, haupia (coconut) custard, and many more!

Now you've made me drool. OK, tell us one thing that we may not know about the University of Hawaii.
One of my family members asked me what kind of wildlife is on campus that is different from most, thinking it'd be big reptiles or spiders. They were quite surprised when I told them chickens, roosters. We have roosters crowing outside of our pool every morning at sunrise. We also have mongoose, which is like a Hawaiian squirrel.

You guys have a great Instagram account. Who's in charge of that?
We all have access to the account, but the majority of the posts are by Christel Simms, our graduate assistant. She's always on her IG game.

Do you guys have a catch phrase? Battle cry? What do you chant before a dual?
We are the Rainbow Wahine (woman) and Rainbow Warriors, so our standard cheer is "Go 'Bows!" Before our regular meets, the team does the "I Ku Mau Mau" chant which is based on Hawaiian traditions written by David Malo (1800s). The men's team does the traditional warrior haka chant and dance led by one of our senior captains at our conference meet while the women do their traditional "No ka 'oi" cheer. Then finally, our men and women stand behind every championship relay race with shakas in the air as the starter goes off.

Insanely. Jealous. Follow Hawaii's season right here at FloSwimming and the Rainbow Warriors' Instagram as well: @Hawaii_SwimDive.

​​By Adam Mania