The future isn't now. But it is coming fast. And at some point when it's here, the Ohio State women's swimming team will be ready to embrace it. They will welcome it, they will enjoy it and they will shine in it because they will be prepared for their moment.

That's because the team, under second-year coach Bill Dorenkott, is still in the building stages of the program he envisions. And that vision is of competitive athletes vying for Big Ten Conference titles, racing for NCAA crowns, and with intentions on much bigger prizes, such as the Olympic Games and World Championships.

"We're heading in the right direction," Dorenkott, who has won three Big Ten championships in his 11 seasons as a head coach in the Big Ten Conference, said. "It's about pursuing excellence on a daily basis.

"We have to understand where we are in the evolution of this program, though. We have to be patient and can't skip steps. I do believe wholeheartedly that our program is laying the foundation for future success. It is already starting to manifest itself on a daily basis."  

And that foundation-laying started last year, in Dorenkott's first season as Ohio State's head coach. Taking over a team that hadn't had a Top 5 finish at the Big Ten championships in over a decade, Dorenkott coaxed an eighth-place finish that, although not satisfactory in the least bit for the coach, still represented an important step in the evolution of the program.

"The early steps in any journey are the least glamorous, but oftentimes the most memorable," the 1991 Cleveland State University graduate said. "The measure of the season will be the pride, passion and resolve that was re-established inside the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion."

On paper, the team set 12 school records at the conference meet and seven swimmers scored points in 16 events compared to the previous season when four athletes scored in six events.

His Priorities are in Order

Dorenkott recruits student-athletes who have vision and goals beyond just being a swimmer. In fact, he recruits on the philosophy that swimming is going to be the fourth-most important priority for his student athletes. He believes if his athletes take care of the first three priorities, the swimming part will take care of itself. Those priorities for his swimmers are:

• "Be a great person."
• "Remember who you are and where you came from, and understand that family is important."
• "You are at Ohio State to get an education, and your degree can open doors for you a long time after you leave Ohio State."

Sage advice, from a family man who knows about family. At the end of each day he goes home to his wife Adrianne, who like Bill, swam at Cleveland State. The couple has four children - Jack, Matt, Ann and Will - with Jack, 11, the oldest.

A Championship Coach

Although Dorenkott admits that winning championships aren't the ultimate goal - it's excellence, he says - he is a proven winner and a championship coach with three Big Ten championships - 2002, 2005 and 2006 - on his resume in 10 years as Penn State's women's coach. The Nittany Lions never finished lower than fourth at the women's Big Ten championships in 10 years under Dorenkott when, prior to his arrival, they had never finished higher than fourth. His women's teams also finished in the Top 20 at the NCAA championships in three of his last five years.

"While I've been a part of programs that have won championships, I've also been a part of programs that have had better meets even when they didn't win championships," Dorenkott explained. "And we've won championships when we didn't have a great meet. So the goal is excellence and the goal is for our student-athletes to be process-driven and process-oriented so they understand that success, whether it is team or individual success, is a by-product of the process."

The Process Leads to Success

Dorenkott has coached 27 different student-athletes to 32 Big Ten individual championships, including 18 women to 29 Big Ten titles. His final season of three coaching the Penn State men, he guided Pat Schirk to an NCAA championship in the men's 200 backstroke and to additional All-America honors in the 100 backstroke. A total of 57 of his swimmers qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials over the years. His student-athletes set 10 Big Ten records and four Big Ten championship records.

Good Grades, Too

Just as in the pool, Dorenkott's athletes also experience success in the classroom. Two of his Penn State swimmers earned the prestigious NCAA postgraduate scholarship. He has had a total of 182 Academic All-Big Ten honorees and 32 College Swimming Coaches Association Academic (CSCAA) All-Americans. His teams have been honored with a CSCAA Team Academic All-America award 11 times.