Kim Hildebrandt is from Belair, Maryland, and completed her fourth year of varsity competition at the University of Maryland, in the Spring of 1996. She coached the Terrapin Masters during the 1996-1997 school year. Here are her thoughts on what motivates her, how she got faster, diet, weight-training, and teammate rivalry.

Q: When did you start swimming competitively?
A: I started swimming competitively in my freshman year of high school. I also joined an outside team, the Northeast YMCA, in my sophomore year. My favorite events were the 50 and 100 free, and 100 fly. After high school I took off two years and didn't swim again until January of my first academic year at Bloomsburg College, in Pennsylvania. I only swam two months at Bloomsburg since I didn't care for the team and had decided to transfer to Maryland. In 1993 through 1995, I swam varsity at the University of Maryland, primarily the 200, 100, and 50 free and competed in Senior Nationals in 1995.

Q: How did you get into swimming?
A: I got into swimming on my own. My parents built a pool in our backyard when I was in kindergarten and my Mom taught me to swim. I never took swimming lessons. I always beat my friends at parties, so my sister taught me to do flip-turns, starts, etc. and I liked it. Since I attended parochial schools through the 8th grade and wanted to meet new friends when I switched to public high school, I decided to join the swim team. I did it for social reasons. In my first year on the swim team, I stank! In the beginning of the season, my time for the 100 free was 1:53 but by the end of the season, my time had improved to 1:02. I am self-motivated, I enjoy swimming, and I liked being around my teammates. It was fun and that made me excel.

Q: What motivated you to do well?
A: One of the girls on my team got me into summer league. That coach taught the Northeast YMCA. He told me I had talent and encouraged me to join the all-year Northeast YMCA. Every year I made improvements. I was self-motivated and used swimming to relieve the stress of high school pressures.

In my first year swimming for Northeast Y, I missed making Y nationals by .1 second. I sensed resentment from my teammates because the coaches paid a lot of attention to me. In my junior and senior years of high school, I made Y nationals. I tried not to let the resentment from my teammates, get to me.

Q: Did anyone inspire you?
A: My Dad came to one of my first meets in high school. I hadn't done well - my goggles fell off, my times were bad - lots of things went wrong! I was in a relay and my Dad said, "They put people who stink in relays." I think he did it to motivate me, to get me mad instead of letting me get discouraged. I think he understood me pretty well because it worked. I enjoyed swimming, I set high goals for myself, and I didn't let the pressure get to me.

Q: What is your favorite set?
A: I prefer swimming in practice to swimming in a meet. I like to race against myself. I like to know the main set ahead of time in order to pump myself up.

My favorite set is one with lots of rest but in which you have to work hard and descend. I don't like easy, constant sets. I can't hold my AT pace for anything over 300. I like a set such as 21 100's, descending. I find distance boring. I lose track.

Q: How did you get better?
A: Before swimming in college, I had taken off two years. My Dad encouraged me to try out for the team when I attended Bloomsburg College. In the first month of working out with their team, my time for the 100 free went from :58 to :55. I was surprised and happy that I could still swim that fast after being off for two years. However, I didn't care for the team or the coaching, and I wanted to save money by attending an in-state school. I tried out for Maryland and made the team. I went from a scrub to a somebody and worked hard. In everything I do, I strive to do well. I love swimming. I didn't swim because I was forced to.

Q: What is your favorite race and race strategy?
A: The 100 free is my favorite race. I am bad at flip-turns and starts. My favorite part of the race is the middle. I am even, I go all-out for the entire race and am strong coming home. If I'm 3rd or 4th at the 50, and it's close, I usually end up winning.

Q: Do you have any training advice for how to get faster?
A: I followed my coaches' advice. The main thing in swimming is the stroke. I recommend a good back-end or a strong stroke finish. Finishing the stroke well is very important.

Q: Do you believe in weight training?
A: I do believe in weight training. I never lifted before coming to Maryland. It helps me finish my stroke. At Maryland, we did sets of eight reps, gradually increasing the weight. Two weeks before a competition, I stop weight training completely. During the first week of January, we weight trained hard. During the second week of January, we weight trained at a moderate level. Then we began tapering, by reducing weight, not reps.

Q: Do you have any nutrition advice?
A: I avoid red meat and greasy foods. I eat meat, such as chicken, although not before a competition. If I have a meet at 11:00AM, I'll eat a big breakfast at 8:00AM. During the meet, I'll eat half of a bagel, a banana, or an orange, but I'll keep it light.

Q: What are your future plans?
A: I would like to coach a high school team. I enjoy coaching Masters and doing volunteer coaching with the UM varsity team. I want to do Masters swimming but it's tough finding time with my current schedule. I'm still in school and student teaching. Right now I'm doing about 9,000 yards a week just to keep fit. I still love swimming.