BG's Lotzer overcomes setback, regains his edge
The two small incisions on Brad Lotzer's ankle are reminders that nothing in sports in certain.
Certainly not for the Buffalo Grove senior, who after a terrific finish to his junior year seemed assured for even bigger and better things this winter.
Everything changed for Lotzer, who delivered his best performances of last season at the state meet, during a high school gym class just before the boys swimming season was about to begin. While playing volleyball, he landed on a teammate's foot and felt some pain.
"I thought, 'Uh-oh, that's not good,'" said Lotzer. "Then I tried to put some weight on it, and I couldn't even really do that."
The basic problem was clear enough - he'd chipped a bone in his ankle.
The remedy, however, wasn't clear at all. Lotzner needed to have surgery to determine the precise size and location of the chip. If it was small enough, he'd be able to simply have the chip removed and carefully let the ankle heal. But if it was large, doctors would need to screw the chip back into place, effectively ending his high school swimming career.
The good news: The chip was small enough that Lotzer didn't need the screws, and he could resume swimming with a cast.
The bad news: The pool time he'd lost to the injury still put him way behind where he'd planned to be, and the clock was ticking.
"It was really hard, I think, because you put so much time into training with the idea that you begin the season more or less where you left off the previous season," said BG coach Jamie Klotz. "That wasn't the case for Brad, and that was hard. I think mainly it was a case of confidence."
It made for a December filled with disappointing times and quite a bit of soul-searching as Lotzer struggled to practice and race with a cast on his ankle. But training over the holidays seems to have allowed Lotzer to recapture his form.
In January, his best 100-yard freestyle time of 51.85 puts him roughly on track with where he was at the same time last year. He finished with a flourish in 2009, breaking the school record in the 200 free at the Barrington sectional and advancing to the state meet in the 100 free, where he continued to drop time and delivered a 48.27 in the state prelims at New Trier.
"What I see from him now is that he's got that attitude back where he's going to race people," Klotz said. "I think just lately, as his times have improved, he seems much more focused."
Lotzer says his injury probably influenced his decision not to swim at the collegiate level. But he's determined to leave any early-season disappointment behind with another big finish.
The main individual goal is to better the exisiting school record in the 100 free, a 47.90 established by Mark Talbot more than 20 years ago.
"It looks like this is it for me," said Lotzer. "I just want to finish up strong."