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Norwalk Coach Keeps Swimmers in Synch

NORWALK, Conn. — As director of the New Canaan YMCA Aquianas synchronized swimming team, Jen Muzyk knows the standards the team has met in its 34-year history. In the 1990s, the Norwalk woman was one of the swimmers who helped set those high goals.

Muzyk, who started as a swimmer with the team in 1993, joined the coaching staff after she graduated from Canisius College in 2000. The former All-American served as the assistant director until 2009, when she took over as the program director after Sandra Mahoney became the U.S. national team director.

New Canaan will send 45 girls to this week's Age Group Championships in Federal Way, Wash. The team includes girls from throughout Fairfield County and reaches into Westchester County and upstate Connecticut.

"I like that synchronized swimming links athletics with artistry,'' Muzyk said. "There are so many components that go into a good synchronized swimming routine. It's great to see the finished product."

New Canaan's team features 63 girls, ranging in age from 6 to 18. The girls begin training in September, and teams are selected in October. They train three to six days per week depending on the age group and up to four hours a day. Muzyk said that when she and her staff select the teams, they look for all-around athletes as well as strong swimmers.

"It's easy to recognize potential,'' Muzyk said. "They're very athletic. A lot of our girls would be tremendous athletes in other sports. They are also very smart. They see what they need to do to become successful and they do it."

Synchronized swimming includes different events, ranging from solo performers to eight-member teams. New Canaan won the 13-15 age group national championship in 2005, and the 16-17 age group title in 2006 and 2007. Last year, Aquianas qualified for the final in every age group.

"New Canaan has been known as a technical team,'' Muzyk said. "Our technical skills are among the best in the country. That's something we pride ourselves on."

Muzyk, a psychology major, did not set out in college to become a synchronized swimming coach. "I loved it so much, I figured I'd stick with it for a few years,'' she said. "Now it's 11 years later, and I still love it." Coaching, however, is different from swimming.

"As a swimmer, you can do what your coaches tell you to do,'' she said. "Then you get to go home. As a coach, there's so much more. You're always thinking what you could do better."

Among Muzyk's nine-woman coaching staff, seven are former Aquianas swimmers. "Our team has a strong culture,'' she said. "It's been a positive place for a lot of girls. It makes sense for them to come back and want to help."

The age group national championships are the season-ending competition, and the teams will take off for the summer before picking up again in September. "I think the girls are looking forward to it,'' Muzyk said. "I think we could do very well."

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