Her own path in the pool

When it came to finding inspiration for her plans after high school, Coeur d’Alene High senior Nicole Rozier might have found it over her summer vacation.

Volunteering, no less.

“I’ll probably end up majoring in business or teaching kids,” Rozier said. “Teaching just seems really cool to me. Over the summer, I volunteered at the Boys and Girls Club, and that really inspired me to want to get into something more like that and helping kids.”

Rozier, a two-year varsity captain on the Coeur d’Alene swimming team, won district championships in the 200-yard individual medley, as well as the 100 breaststroke.

“It’s kind of an honor because it’s not something that the coaches vote on,” Rozier said of being a team captain. “It’s something that the other kids on the team decide. I mostly help with cheers and getting everyone ready for races and keeping the team spirit up. It’s really fun.”

When she’s not busy with swimming — which isn’t that often — Rozier spends her time either babysitting or working as a nanny.

“I’m doing a lot of schoolwork, but when I’ve got some free time, I like to draw and read books,” Rozier said. “That really consumes my time right now.”

Rozier verbally committed to Louisiana State University in early October.

“It’s really warm there and the coach rally thinks I can improve while I’m there,” Rozier said. “Which is a big thing for me. The team is awesome, the campus is awesome and the mascot is really awesome.”

“I’d talked to her each week after she went on her different recruiting trips,” Coeur d’Alene High coach Rich Swoboda said. “And it didn’t surprise me at all that she chose LSU. It was her second trip, and when she came back, she was the most excited after that. And it was the most bubbly that I’ve seen her. I think it’s a good fit for her. The coach is excited to have her and sees the potential in her. We’re from Idaho, which is not a big swimming state in the nation. She’s not coming from a program with 60 kids of her ability. She’s really coming from a relatively small program.”

Rozier chose LSU after also making visits to Ohio State, Northern Arizona, Boise State and Utah.

“It’s a completely different environment than North Idaho, which is pretty cool,” Rozier said. “It’s a different culture, so it’s something that I’m looking forward to. When I started the recruiting process, they were one of the schools that stuck by me throughout the entire process. The coach was really awesome and believed in everything I could accomplish.

I really liked Utah, but felt I wasn’t going to be pushed enough there and it wasn’t far enough from home. I really wanted to get out of Idaho and far away from home to experience a different culture.”

LSU’s campus is roughly 2,300 miles from Coeur d’Alene, around a 33-hour car ride.

“I’m not really nervous about being far away from home,” Rozier said. “I’m really ready to have a fresh start somewhere. I’ve lived here my entire life and just really looking forward to getting to know somewhere else in the completely different place. I’m really looking forward to it.”

The visits, some coming during meets for Coeur d’Alene, haven’t slowed Rozier down as a senior.

“It’s pretty typical of some of the higher profile seniors to be gone a little bit during the season,” Swoboda said. “She’s missed a bit of her training, but I don’t think it’s going to affect her that much (at the district meet) or at state. She knows her swimming career isn’t over, so she knows she’s not swimming with that feeling like it’s her last hurrah. She’s swimming a lot more relaxed this year, and her times have shown it. She’s more relaxed, but still has that fight in her and I expect her to do really well at state.”

Rozier set a state record in the 200-yard individual medley — her favorite event — as a junior, finishing in 2 minutes, 3.8 seconds to win the state title.

“I love it because it’s all four strokes in one,” Rozier said. “It’s not too much of one stroke. With the 200, it changes every 50 yards, and it feels like you’re always doing something different instead of the exact same thing throughout.”

“She’s a very coachable kid,” said Swoboda of Rozier, who also swims in the 100 breaststroke, 200 medley relay and 200 freestyle relay. “She’s the athlete that everyone wants in their program with the way she competes. She’s always asking what she can do to get better.”

The state meet is this Friday and Saturday at the Boise West YMCA.

“I’m really hoping that the girls can win a state title,” Rozier said. “And I think we’ve got our best chance we’ve had all four years I’ve been here to do that. We’ve got a lot of foreign exchange students and transfers that are really fast. We’ve got some good relay teams and some really good girls. Hopefully we can finish in the top two, if not win it.”

“In addition to being a great swimmer, Nicole is just an all-around great person,” Swoboda said. “She’s fun to have around the pool. There’s those athletes that you just enjoy to watch in the pool, and she’s one of them. Her dedication to the sport — and she’s dedicated to every aspect of it and a team captain — is great. Last year, we had the team in two different pools, and she went to the other end where the other group was practicing and help coach the other team and continue that team unity. She’s good at seeing that kind of stuff.”

“I love Rich and he’s really inspirational for the entire team,” Rozier said. “Everyone loves him and what he’s doing. He’s super encouraging for all of us. He’s always saying, ‘Do the best you can today. Even if you’re having an off day, he’ll just say do your best, and we’ll succeed together.’ He’s been really good at helping us all bound together as a team.”