Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Till Pallmann (center) stands with fellow coaches Elise Knoche (left) and Rick Walker (right) at practice.
Pallmann adapting to life out of the pool
10/04/2017 | 12:18:00 | Swimming & Diving
Till Pallmann loves to compete.
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From 2012-16, he competed in the pool for the Saluki swimming and diving team with great success. The Zweibrucken, Germany native set school records in the 50, 100, 200-yard freestyle and the 100-yard backstroke. He was on relay teams that set school records that still stand today in the 400 and 800-yard freestyle relay and the 400-yard medley relay. He was a six-time Mid-American Conference Champion and was named to the All-MAC First Team all four years at SIU. His time of 4:18.16 in the 500-yard freestyle still stands as a conference record.
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With his swimming career over, Pallmann has switched his sights to new ventures as a coach on the pool deck for SIU and master's student studying business administration. He is still finding ways to keep the competitive flame burning.
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"In one of my classes we have a semester long simulation where we compete against the class in teams. The team that finishes first gets more points than the other teams," Pallmann said. "It's the first time in my life that I get to effect someone else's grade by doing better than them. I'm getting really into that. It's a totally different feeling than studying to get a good grade. In this simulation, I get to strive to be better than [my peers]."
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He's been striving and succeeding at being better than his peers as a swimmer for a long time. But now he's in a new role with his former team as the graduate assistant coach. He's no longer a teammate of all of his friends who still swim here at SIU, but a mentor. His former coaches, Rick Walker and Elise Knoche, are now his co-workers. Pallmann said it was a difficult adjustment at first; he wants to jump in the pool with the team and swim on race days.
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In his mind however, that is his strength as a coach. He understands the daily struggles of the Division I athlete and can be there for athletes when they're struggling with balancing school work or stressed from a heavy workload.
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"They're still my teammates. They're still my friends. I like talking to these guys," he said. "Since I know them, I know the right way to approach them all. Not everyone reacts the same way to certain messages. I can be there for them. I know the pressure that is on them and not all of them cope well with that. I get how they feel."
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The biggest adjustment for Pallmann was finding a way to break out of his usual practice routine of getting in the pool every day at 2:15 p.m. Now when the team jumps into the pool to start their practice routine, Pallmann is there on the deck watching.
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It took time for the former swimmer to adjust to coaching, but he's already beginning to enjoy the process of watching the swimmers times improve as they get in shape and start to get faster.
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"When you're an athlete you don't think about getting in shape and getting faster, because it just happens," he said. "Now as an assistant coach, I'm watching it every day. It's different and a new way of looking at the process."
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As the season progresses and the team competes against Mid-American and Missouri Valley Conference foes, Pallmann will be there every step of the way assisting his fellow coaches and former teammates in the process of getting faster. As for his new found competitors in the classroom, Pallmann will have no problem beating them to an A if he finds the same success that he did in the pool as a Saluki.
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From 2012-16, he competed in the pool for the Saluki swimming and diving team with great success. The Zweibrucken, Germany native set school records in the 50, 100, 200-yard freestyle and the 100-yard backstroke. He was on relay teams that set school records that still stand today in the 400 and 800-yard freestyle relay and the 400-yard medley relay. He was a six-time Mid-American Conference Champion and was named to the All-MAC First Team all four years at SIU. His time of 4:18.16 in the 500-yard freestyle still stands as a conference record.
Â
With his swimming career over, Pallmann has switched his sights to new ventures as a coach on the pool deck for SIU and master's student studying business administration. He is still finding ways to keep the competitive flame burning.
Â
"In one of my classes we have a semester long simulation where we compete against the class in teams. The team that finishes first gets more points than the other teams," Pallmann said. "It's the first time in my life that I get to effect someone else's grade by doing better than them. I'm getting really into that. It's a totally different feeling than studying to get a good grade. In this simulation, I get to strive to be better than [my peers]."
Â
He's been striving and succeeding at being better than his peers as a swimmer for a long time. But now he's in a new role with his former team as the graduate assistant coach. He's no longer a teammate of all of his friends who still swim here at SIU, but a mentor. His former coaches, Rick Walker and Elise Knoche, are now his co-workers. Pallmann said it was a difficult adjustment at first; he wants to jump in the pool with the team and swim on race days.
Â
In his mind however, that is his strength as a coach. He understands the daily struggles of the Division I athlete and can be there for athletes when they're struggling with balancing school work or stressed from a heavy workload.
Â
"They're still my teammates. They're still my friends. I like talking to these guys," he said. "Since I know them, I know the right way to approach them all. Not everyone reacts the same way to certain messages. I can be there for them. I know the pressure that is on them and not all of them cope well with that. I get how they feel."
Â
The biggest adjustment for Pallmann was finding a way to break out of his usual practice routine of getting in the pool every day at 2:15 p.m. Now when the team jumps into the pool to start their practice routine, Pallmann is there on the deck watching.
Â
It took time for the former swimmer to adjust to coaching, but he's already beginning to enjoy the process of watching the swimmers times improve as they get in shape and start to get faster.
Â
"When you're an athlete you don't think about getting in shape and getting faster, because it just happens," he said. "Now as an assistant coach, I'm watching it every day. It's different and a new way of looking at the process."
Â
As the season progresses and the team competes against Mid-American and Missouri Valley Conference foes, Pallmann will be there every step of the way assisting his fellow coaches and former teammates in the process of getting faster. As for his new found competitors in the classroom, Pallmann will have no problem beating them to an A if he finds the same success that he did in the pool as a Saluki.
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