Meet Dani! Dani Zimmerman is an athlete from Ocean Township, New Jersey. She participated in travel softball until her junior year of high school and played for her high school team for all four years. Additionally, Dani has been involved in swimming since the age of 8, competing at the club level and continuing to swim for all four years on her high school team.
She extended her swimming journey at Montclair State University, swimming competitively for four years. During her time at Montclair she was named Honorable Mention All-NJAC Academic Team. She also earned many wins, including a win in the 200-medley relay in NJAC win over Kean, she picked up a victory in the 200-medley relay against CSI, and placed 13th in the 200-yard backstroke at the Metropolitan Championships. Dani also turned in a third place time at the Met Championships in the 800-freestyle relay. She claimed first in the 400-freestyle relay against Division I Seton Hall, and notched a second-place in the 500-freestyle as the Red Hawks knocked off Kean. She was a huge asset to her college program.
She is currently a K-8 Health and Physical Education Teacher, High School Swim Coach, Club Swim Coach, and Oceanfront Lifeguard. In her current pursuits, Dani can be found engaging in various activities to maintain her fitness for her lifeguarding job and competitions. These include swimming, paddling her 10’6 racing board, rowing in an ASAY Surfboat, surf skiing, and running on the beach. Beyond her water-centric activities, Dani nurtures her passion and love for strength and fitness by attending Crossfit classes at BTS [Fitness By The Sea] to be the fittest version of herself.
Q: What sports did you play growing up?
I played softball and swimming! I played travel softball up until my junior year of high school and played for my high school all 4 years. On top of that, I swam at the club level from the age of 8, continued to swim all 4 years for my high school team, and swam for 4 years at Montclair State University.
Q:Was there anything that made you hesitant about starting your sport(s)?
My dad was an amazing triathlete and runner growing up. That being said, my sibling and I always felt a lot of pressure to live up to his standards that he set for us. When I was 7, my older brother had been on the Monmouth Barracudas swim team for 3 years already and it was expected that I joined as well. I recall being scared of the cold pool, coaches, and the pressure that was put on me. That year I set out to try out for the Monmouth Barracuda Swim Team. I had my swimsuit, cap, and goggles on and walked onto the pool deck at the JCC. I was frightened. I remember my brother encouraging me with words of encouragement, the coaches going out of their way to make me feel comfortable, and seeing my dad in the bleachers looking disappointed in me. I started to cry and I refused to get in the pool. The one coach, Coach Cheryl, was even nice enough to wait until everyone had left to ask me if I wanted to get in the pool, but I refused.
The following year my dad asked me if I wanted to try out. I recalled the trauma I had felt from the year before and I refused. The next week, my best friend Amanda told me she was going to try out for the swim team and asked if I would try out with her. The comfort of knowing someone was there with me going through the nerve racking experience was the push I needed to start my swim career.
Q: What female athletes did you look up to?
As a swimmer, you are not always perceived to be a part of a ‘real’ sport or ‘cool’ sport. However, there was an athlete all of us swimmers looked up to who made our sport ‘real’ and ‘cool’. We all looked up to Michael Phelps. He was the person who made my sport ‘cool’ to the world which was something I always loved. My favorite female athlete was Missy Franklin. I looked up to her work ethic and her grace. Whenever I watched her swim a race, she would smile behind the block and when she finished, she would shake hands and give a smile to her opponents whether or not she swam her best race.
Aside from professional athletes, I was fortunate enough to swim for a team that felt like a family. The older swimmers knew the younger swimmers and the younger swimmers looked up to the older. The older girls on my team were excellent role models for me and inspired me to want to swim in college. Saturday morning practices were always the days for test sets or racing off the blocks. I remember being a little swimmer and watching the older girl swimmers crush a test set against the boy swimmers after a 2 hour practice and I could not wait to be able to do that one day.
Q: What is your favorite memory associated with sports?
My favorite memory associated with sports was my junior year of college in 2018. The Montclair women’s swim team had a long lasting rivalry with NJAC competitor TCNJ. Our teams always went back and forth beating each other during our dual meet. The year period we had lost by a few points. In our 2018 dual meet we were at the TCNJ pool. I remember being excited and motivated to race for my team rather than for myself. Despite some of my teammates swimming events that they do not normally swim in, we trusted what our coaches planned in order to create a successful line up. Throughout the meet, everyone showed up and did what they had to do. After every race we felt our momentum building and the pool deck was electric. Having the drive to win the meet for our whole team was the fuel we needed to take home the win that day!
Q: How has playing sports helped shape your life?
Playing sports has shaped my life in numerous ways. From a young age I played 2 sports and was involved in multiple teams. This forced me to learn time management from a young age. I knew that if I wanted to give all of my activities 100% I had to balance my social life, athletic life, and academic life by planning. Anyone who knows me today knows that I am quite the planner. Learning time management at a young age has allowed me to continue to have strong time management skills as an adult. My time management skills always allow me to be able to coach 3 teams, teach full time, lifeguard in the summers, prioritize at least an hour workout daily, and be able to socialize.
Additionally, being a part of sports has taught me the value of being a part of a team. Being on sports teams taught me that you have to show up, commit, and put in the work in order to not let people down. It is one thing to hold yourself accountable however, it is a whole other level of commitment when others are holding you accountable as well. The desire to not let other people down was something that drove me to come to practices on days that I did not want to go and to this day I know I cannot let other people down since they are counting on me.
Lastly, playing sports has taught me the value of hard work. “Hard work works” is a quote my college swim coach always shared with our team. He was trying to emphasize the fact that there are no shortcuts in sports and in life. Being a straightforward non sugar coating person, this quote stuck with me after my college swimming days. I preach to my athletes, students, and myself that if you want to see results, make a change, or improve your performance you have to put in the work. Something that makes the process of working hard a little easier is surrounding yourself with other hard working people. Surrounding yourself with like minded individuals will help you keep your eyes on your goals and not give up on the tough days.
Q: What advice would you give to young girls who is just starting off in sports?
My favorite piece of advice to give young athletes is to not take everything so seriously and have fun. My senior year of college I had set high goals for myself and knew I was going to be so angry with myself if I did not reach those goals. I remember finishing my college swim career and being so upset and angry with myself even though I had reached my goals. I was upset because of how serious I was the whole year. I did not allow myself to have fun and enjoy my final year of swimming, because of how serious I took it. I tell my athletes to make sure they are having fun, because at some point the sports will end and you will want to look back on all the fun you had and not how serious you were.
Coach Rachel 