One recent trend in prep athletics has been for athletes to focus on one sport. Munster’s Logan Armagast is an exception to this trend.
Armagast played three positions for the football team in the fall, and he pitches for the baseball team in the spring. But during the winter, he is focused on helping the Seahorses win their 31st consecutive sectional title.
“It’s a neat little dynamic, especially with swimmers,” Munster coach Matt Pavlovich said. “You don’t see a lot of swimmers that are football and baseball players as well. It’s good for swimming to see kids are involved in other activities. “
During the school year, Armagast is constantly on the go while playing one of his three sports. Not having any down time keeps him from things such as vacations, but he appreciates the chance to constantly keep busy.
“The only time I really get a full week of rest is during moratorium week in the summer where we’re not allowed to have any contact with coaches. Other than that, every single week I’m practicing one sport at least.
“Staying busy makes me more productive as a person because the more I’m doing, the more my mind stays busy, and I get to excel in things like school as well because I’m not going to get lazy.”
One of the captains on the football team, Armagast wants to bring the closeness of that team to the swimming squad.
“The football team is more close and we know each other better, and I’m trying to carry that mentality into leading the swim team,” he said. “Everyone needs to know they are important to scoring points.”
The start of the swim season overlapped with the end of the football season, so Armagast was a bit behind his teammates in terms of training, but he is right where he wants to be for the season’s final two months.
“It takes him a little longer to get into shape, but he’s starting to come together and we know usually around this point is when he really starts to kick in,” Pavlovich said.
While he could not swim during football season, Armagast is able to work on baseball during the swim season by playing catch and throwing some bullpen sessions. He’s found that swimming has aided his pitching.
“Swimming is really good for baseball because you’re using the same type of arm motions when you swim freestyle that you do throwing a baseball, so swimming helps strengthen those muscles.”
Armagast swam the freestyle leg on the 200-yard medley relay team that finished fifth at last season’s state meet, and the freestyle-specialist has plans on getting back there again this season.
Last year, he swam both the 50 and 100 freestyle individually and also two relays, but this season, he may just focus on the 50, where he placed second at last year’s Lake Central Sectional, and be a part of the medley relay as well as the 200 and 400 free relays.
“If I’m participating in three relays and those relays do better, the relays are worth more points than me in individual events,” Armagast said. “We have younger guys who can place the same I would in sectionals and get us the same amount of points.”
“He’s pretty well locked in to (the 50 free, 200 medley relay and 200 free relay), so it will be a decision about whether to swim him in the 100 free individually or in the 400 free relay,” Pavlovich said.
Whatever events he ends up competing in, Armagast will bring valuable experience with him from last season’s state finals. That experience will help a Munster squad that has a lot of new faces this season.
“It’s always nice to have some seniors,” Pavlovich said. “We definitely have a younger team. He helps the younger guys realize how important the relays are. It’s good for them to understand the importance of the relays within the team concept.”