Jan. 27, 2013
By Matt Winkeljohn
Sting Daily
Having begun his collegiate athletic career as a football player at Presbyterian, Bo Hatchett is not a typical Division I swimmer and he likes to think outside the pool.
That’s why everybody was up at his house over the weekend, hanging with the Hatchetts.
The Georgia Tech senior swim team captain called a retreat for the men’s squad, and they all – roughly two dozen of them – headed to Demorest, in the northeast part of the state.
Hatchett came up with the idea, he said, “to bond and get together before conference. Just hang out, shoot some shotguns, camp out, maybe go hiking. It should be fun.”
With senior day looming – Saturday against Emory – and the ACCs in the near future (Feb. 20-23 for the women, Feb. 27-March 2 for the men) the Yellow Jackets are working on their out-of-the-water vibe.
“The season has had a different feel than seasons in the past,” said Hatchett, who spent three semesters at Presbyterian before transferring to Tech. “We’re swimming faster than we have.
“In the past, we’ve had long goal meetings before the season where we wrote out a bunch of goals for everybody. This year, it consisted of everybody on the team declaring that he is going to be the best they can be academically, socially and athletically. Up to this point, I think we’ve all done that in the pool.”
The weekend, then, was tidy-up time. It was a chance to mellow out without the distractions of practice or schoolwork hanging over head, a final stage setter of sorts.
Mom and Dad played along. Nora and Thomas Hatchett know about big crowds. They’ve raised six kids.
“They’re alright with it, as long as we clean up,” Bo said. “It’s a very classy group of guys.”
