Mills Shows Spirit, Resolve in Recovery

Setting records is not important to sophomore Kate Mills.

Mills has enjoyed a tremendous season for Harvard, shattering the school’s top times race after race and qualifying for the 2009 NCAA Championships that take place later this week.

Personal successes, however, aren’t the world to her. Instead, Mills cares about how many seconds her teammates are shaving off their personal times and how hard they’re pushing themselves to become better.

Rather than promoting her own success, there is nothing that gives Mills more satisfaction than to see her teammates come out on top in their races or to see that they have improved.

“It was nice [to break records],” Mills remarked. “But for me it was all about seeing many of my teammates break personal records and becoming better swimmers.”

The Sacramento, Calif. native knows that even though swimming can be about personal achievement, at the end of day victories rely on the cumulative success of each member of the team. If one falls, the others need to step up, so it’s no coincidence that Mills enjoys competing in relays.

“Kate is the ultimate team player,” Crimson coach Stephanie Morawski said. “She loves to compete in relays because it’s not only her that’s out to win but three of her teammates are also part of the victory.”

Team spirit is an essential trait for a top athlete looking to demonstrate leadership, but Mills equally exemplified the importance of resilience this past season.

After undergoing knee surgery during the summer for a waterpolo injury she sustained in high school, Mills knew that she had to work hard to recuperate and surpass her level of swimming from last season in a very successful freshman campaign.

She was, however, confident that the team could step up during her recovery to ensure that Harvard remained on top in the Ivy League.

Mills was extremely careful with her rehabilitation. She met religiously with her strength and conditioning trainers to slowly apply more and more force on her knee to bring her leg back to pristine form.

While the team would kick 1000 yards for practice, coach Morawski would only allow Mills to swim 400 yards so that she wouldn’t overexert the fragile joint.

Morawski knew it was tough for such a competitive athlete to take baby steps to reach the level she wanted, but the coach felt Mills was taking the right steps in the right direction.

“She never pushed it too far, she was very careful,” Morawski commented. “We would always check in on her and [the trainers] would ask her how she was doing. The process helped her leg and she never pushed past a dangerous point. She was right on schedule with predictions from the doctors.”

When Mills was cleared to compete, it was still all about a gradual process to reach the high potential she has. Morawski quickly realized that Mills had to switch to events that would better suit her condition.

Morawski didn’t allow Mills to swim the individual medleys and instead let her swim freestyle or backstroke.

At the beginning of the season, Mills continued to combat the effects of her injury, as she was once forced to start a 500-yard freestyle race in the water instead of the on the diving blocks.

Even with this setback, Mills dominated the race and broke the five-minute barrier that eludes many full-strength swimmers. She didn’t let her state interfere with her competitive drive to get another win for Harvard.

During the winter campaign, Mills fully recovered from her complication, and started swimming at an extremely high level.

Mills began to show signs that she had hit prime form in the Ivy League Championships when she faced-off in the 800-yard relay against extremely tough competition.

“Mills really showed what she was capable of at the Ivy League championships,” Morawski recalled. “She held off the top Princeton swimmer who competed in the Olympics. Going against someone who’s in the top eight and who caught up after five laps and still keeping her from overtaking the race was a special moment for Mills.”

Her top speed and great swimming form made Mills stand out from the rest. She qualified for the NCAA Championships—taking place at Texas A&M’s Student Rec Center Natatorium in College Station—where she, junior Alexandra Clarke, and Coach Morawski are currently training for the competition.

“I think [Clarke and I] are swimming at a really fast pace,” Mills declared. “It’s been fun these past weeks training for the championships. There is a lot of excitement since we have been working hard all season. We’re ready to go.”

Mills and Clarke are both seeded 19th in their respective events. Mills hopes to exceed expectations at this competition, but never forgets that her team comes first in her life.

“I mean, I hope to go places,” Mills reflected. “My goal is to make top 16 in the NCAA Championships. But most importantly, this team needs to excel so that we can show the country that we really are not only phenomenal students but also phenomenal swimmers.”