Welcome to the newest RWU Athletics weekly feature, Alumni Profiles. Here we will be featuring a former Roger Williams student-athlete and catching up with them on their career since graduating.
 
Our next entry comes from Eric Thurston. Eric was a four-year member of the Men's Swimming & Diving team and graduated from RWU in 2014 with a degree in Classics and a Minor in Political Science. He was a five-time New England Swimming & Diving Intercollegiate Association (NEISDA) Champion, winning three 50 Yard Backstroke races and two 100 Yard Backstroke races. During his time at RWU, he helped the team win two Commonwealth Coast Conference Championships and broke five school records.
  What is your current job title and what does that entail?
I am currently the Assistant Swim/Dive Coach and Recruiting Coordinator at Boston College. I assist the head coach in coaching our swim team, recruit competitive student-athletes, and run and operate a swim camp. I started at Boston College in mid-July of 2019. I've assisted in helping our student-athletes break numerous school records. One special take away this past season was watching a few of our team members achieve Olympic Trials cuts.
 
I primarily coach workouts focused around the 100/200 of stroke (Fly, Back, Breast) and 200 IM. One of the ways we are efficient as a coaching staff is by splitting our team into multiple groups each day. These groups are changing personnel on a daily basis. As a tangible example, many of our 50 Free swimmers swim the 100 and 200 Free. But, many of our 1650 Free swimmers swim the 200 and 500 Free. So on a day where the focus is 200 Free, we may have a large group training together versus other days where we might split off into different groups. One aspect of the athlete that we take heavily into consideration while designing their training plan is to look back at where they've come from—obviously  they've had success swimming (at least) one way, so we don't want to disregard it but rather grow with it.
 
Travel for recruiting was supposed to be a big part of this past spring and summer. Unfortunately, this has come to an abrupt halt with NCAA Dead Periods. Ideally, I would connect with a PSA and their coach and find a time that works well to watch their workout. Swimming and track are interesting because we can rely on times to guide our recruiting. Some might argue that there is more or equally important information to be had aside from time. This is where traveling can lead to seeing the PSA interact with their teammates and coaches, what kind of skills they naturally have, how well they receive criticism, and if they're coachable. One way we've navigated this hurdle is by asking coaches and PSAs to film their workouts so we can evaluate them. We also love evaluating race film. We find that we are more efficient with our time and money by watching these videos instead of attending meets across the country.
 
How did your athletic involvement at RWU help you with your path to coaching?
I would never have gotten into coaching if Matt Emmert didn't approach me to help coach the 10 & Unders when he was first hired at RWU. I've been working at swim camps since the summer of 2014. I started with the Brown Swim Camp, then moved on to the Longhorn Swim Camp, Ocean State Swim Camp, and Cavalier Swim Camp. These led me to (ALMOST) start the Eagles Swim Camp here at Boston College, but the pandemic took that off the books. We hope to run the Eagle Swim Camp beginning in Summer 2021 for four sessions. Each session would run Sunday-Thursday and have at least two swim workouts each day for campers 10-17 years old.
 
Why did you choose to attend RWU?
I was able to continue swimming competitively, live on the beach, and be close enough to home that if I needed to get home in an emergency I could, but far enough away that neither my parents nor I would be surprise visiting each other.
 
What is your most fond memory of RWU Athletics?       
RWU allowed me to meet my best friends, learn the value of hard work, and exposed me to the career I love. If I could go back and pick RWU all over again, I would. My hat is off to Coach Emmert and Coach Kemmy for showcasing and instilling the leadership that has given me guidance throughout the years.
 
What would you say were your greatest athletic and academic accomplishments during your time at RWU?
In my senior year, I earned a spot on the 200 Yard Freestyle Relay. At one point I held the school records in the 50 Yard Breaststroke, 100 Yard Breaststroke, 200 Yard Breaststroke, 200 Yard Medley Relay, and 400 Yard Medley Relay. Also, I graduated from Roger Williams Cum Laude.
 
Were you involved in any extracurricular activities outside of athletics?
I was a member of the Student Senate.
 
What piece of advice would you have for current RWU student-athletes?
Don't take the easy way out. RWU can pamper you; keep challenging yourself.
 

---

Are you a former RWU student-athlete interested in being part of our Alumni Profile series? If so, please contact Athletic Communication Director at nwilliams@rwu.edu for more information!