Boys sports profile: Izak Zaplatar

By swimming for UT and Mac, junior discovers thrill of competition and his second swim family

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Gallery • 4 Photos
Peyton Casey
DIVING UP: Zaplatar dives into the water at the Dripping Springs Swim meet on Sept. 14. In the first meet of the season, Zaplatar finished first in both the 50-meter and 100-meter breaststroke. His teammates and fellow competitors from other high schools congratulated him on his wins. “I really want to drop my time,” Zaplatar said, “but also, I [want] to make a better connection with the rest of the team.”

Kristen Tibbetts, co-editor in chief
October 3, 2019

The Shield: How many years have you been on the team?

A captain’s log with senior Claire Greenberg

The Shield: Why is Izak a good profile subject for The Shield?

Claire Greenberg: Izak is a really good swimmer, and he’s been working really hard these past few years. Also, he’s just a really great guy.

TS: What’s your favorite story or memory of having Izak on the team?

CG: He’s just a really funny kid. It was cool to see him start our freshman year and grow into a leader on the team and help out younger kids.

TS: He mentioned that his brother was on the team his freshman year. What was that dynamic like?

CG: It was funny that year because there were three brothers on the team. One was a senior, one was a sophomore, and one was a freshman. We got to see their whole family dynamic, which was really fun and funny.

TS: Pretend you are writing a rec letter for Izak. How would you describe him in three words?

CG: He’s very positive, hardworking and outgoing.

TS: What are your expectations for him this season?

CG: I think he is going to do really well. He has been working really hard over the summer because of his club team, and his times have been dropping. I’m really excited to see how that transfers to high school swimming this season, and who knows? Maybe, he’ll go to state.

Izak Zaplatar: I’m a junior now, so three years.

TS: When did you discover that you liked to swim?

IZ: When I was younger, I would swim for my neighborhood swim team, but after a couple years I lost that. But then my brother got into swimming at McCallum his freshman year, so when I came freshman year, he was a senior on swim team, so I did it with him and just fell in love with it.

TS: Who is your brother?

IZ: Emerson Zaplatar.

TS: When did you start swimming competitively?

IZ: Probably sophomore year. During freshman year I just did it for McCallum, but sophomore year, I swam for UT and McCallum. So, now I’m still doing it for both of those teams. Club is a lot more competitive because there are more people with faster times.

TS: What does your practice schedule look like?

IZ: After school at 5:15 p.m., I leave to go to UT. I get back home at 8 p.m. some days, but if I’m staying for McCallum practice as well as UT practice, I’ll stay for an extra 30 minutes with McCallum. I don’t want to overwork myself, so I’ll leave at 8:30 p.m. and finally get home.

TS: What do you like about being on the McCallum team?

IZ: It’s a family. It’s a lot of fun. Everyone can act like themselves, and it’s very open to everyone, which I think is great.

TS: What are your goals, both in club and at McCallum for this year?

IZ: I really want to drop my time, but also to make a better connection with the rest of the team.

TS: What has been your favorite moment on the team, any year?

IZ: Definitely the overnight meets with the McCallum team. It’s a lot of fun, and you get to spend a lot of time with the team. You get to room with your buddies, and it’s just a fun time. When you go swim the next day, there’s a lot of enthusiasm.

TS: Do those meets happen often?

IZ: We have about two overnight meets every year, so that’s not a lot, but they do happen regularly.

TS: What is the general meet schedule?

IZ: For McCallum, we have a meet every three weeks, but I also have a meet every three weeks for UT. So, in all, I have two meets every three weeks.

TS: How did you place in the meet last weekend?

IZ: I did pretty well! I got first place in both 50 breaststroke and the 100 breaststroke, so I am pretty happy with that.

TS: How do you think this season compares to last season?

IZ: We lost a lot of seniors, my brother is no longer here, and we have quite a bit of new people. Hopefully we will be a stronger team, but only time will tell.