Staying SlakStrong: Q&A with Roger Rumppe

March 23, 2010 • KaDee Ellis  
Filed under News

Tyler Slak, a former swimmer at FAHS was recently diagnosed with terminal stomach cancer.  In light of this, a SlakStrong fund was started to raise awareness.  Also, Boys Swimming coach Roger Rumppe held an alumni swim for Slak to be able to spend one last time with his friends and teammates.  Slak passed away in February.  The Signal recently sat down with Rumppe to discuss SlakStrong, the swim, and his relationship with Tyler.

Signal: What was your impression of Tyler?
Rumppe: When Tyler started, he was a typical high school kid: not much motivation, kind of lazy, but he turned into much more than that as far as swimming went. He became very dedicated, especially with the butterfly, he made himself a very special person.

Signal: How did your relationship change when he graduated?
Rumppe: I think with any alumni your relationship changes. I think any time you coach between on-season and off-season it changes but we were close. Mostly, Tyler would come, he would be the one to come and update me on whats going on in Whitewater he would come back and swim with us over Christmas break and always came to the alumni meets, that’s really the part where the relationship changes.  When he was a senior he was the captain of the team and when he started he was lucky to stay on the team. Our relationship certainly evolved, his commitment evolved.

Signal: How has his experience served other swimmers?
Rumppe: Them seeing what effect they had on me, a lot of them didn’t know Tyler. Some did from him coming to alumni meets and practicing with us and stuff.  A lot of them didn’t know him, he would have been 5 years out. Most of the kids in school never swam with him, but I think he affected alot of his college teammates that were on the team with him in Whitewater.

Signal: Why did you decide to set up the SlakStrong fund?
Rumppe: That’s one of the cool parts, it was actually one of his team mates who was on the Fort swim team with him who was the one who kind of organized the whole thing, not just with Fort guys but Whitewater guys. I’m just part of it because I said I would sell the SlakStrong stuff for him but he actually set it up. I think that says a lot of what kind of guy Tyler was and what kind of leadership he had that one of his teammates wanted to do something like that for him, and i think that just speaks tons. For one, I have connections to allow for the word to get out, why wouldn’t you do that? My heart just goes out to his family, this is just such a not fair situation. Anything that you can do that’s within my power, I’m going to do it, it wasn’t even a question.

Signal: How has the SlakStrong fund changed since Tyler passed?
Rumppe: What’s such a unique situation here is that we knew it was coming so we had some time to deal with it before he passed away. So I got to visit with Tyler a few times knowing what the outcome will be which is a very unique situation when your dealing with death. I was certainly sad when he passed but I had time already to make peace with that situation. It was still hard but what changed now is that I think of him all the time.  It’s just little quirky things that will make me think of him, whether its a song on the radio or I’m going through stuff and remember things he did or said.  When we were at the state meet, when it came time for the butterfly, I was certainly thinking of Tyler and when Evan [Hill] broke the 26-year-old school record I certainly thought of Tyler. In the back of my head, I was thinking Evan had a little help that day breaking that record, at least that was what was in my head. All the people that were screaming there, I think Tyler was screaming for Evan to go faster too. It’s just little things like that.

Signal: What does being SlakStrong mean?
Rumppe: I think the whole idea of that just fits…just the way he dealt with the whole thing. When we had the swim meet here, he was pissed at me for making such a big deal.  He didn’t want there to be this big thing for him, he didn’t want his funeral to be this big sad occasion, he wanted there to be laughter. And that’s all part of what I think is SlakStrong, he had a strength and a determination that he lived throughout since i knew him, he just did what he needed to do and he did his best. I think that’s what SlakStrong is all about.

Signal: How was the swimming event helpful to Tyler and supporters?
Rumppe: When your told you have a month to live, I think you think about life, things you have done, haven’t done, and one of the things Tyler wanted to do was to swim one more time, and his mom called and asked if there was something I could do. Of course we would come together, so much of his life in the last 9 years has been swimming, his friends and his life whether it’s been high school or university revolved around swimming. One of the other very cool things his friends did that he wanted to do was to see the ocean again, and he wasn’t well enough to get there, there just wasn’t enough time. So his friends emailed everybody and had them send pictures of the ocean, family trips, pictures of Slak, and they printed all these up and plastered his whole bedroom wall with these pictures. What was a wish for Tyler became something much bigger for everybody because it was an opportunity for people to say goodbye to Tyler, that’s not what happened there but it was the opportunity to see him and talk to him and let him know that you cared about him and you were rooting for him. I think that was important for him but I think it was just as important for all those people that showed up as well. For me to be able to sit and visit with him in the past months gave me some closure and dealing with the unfairness of the whole things, and I think that’s one of the unique opportunities that was given to us.

Signal: Did you say things you normally wouldn’t, to him or family?
Rumppe: Tyler and I didn’t really have any huge important words in the time that we visited.  I just think that him and I really appreciated being able to spend those moments together and I don’t necessarily think anything needed to be said one-on-one. I think he knew I cared about him and I certainly knew where his heart was as well. Our team talked about him a few times briefly.  I think for the boys it was an opportunity to realize how short life can be, and how important it is to do your very best.

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