WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM - Healthy as a Horse: Episode 8 - Yvonne Botha

Episode Date: December 17, 2025

Sophomore Yvonne Botha joins Ella for a long-form interview to discuss her experience as an international student on the swim team. She explains how she's grown as an athlete and how she prioritizes her health. 

Welcome to Healthy as a Horse, where we discuss health and wellness for the Hillsdale Chargers. I'm Ella Malone, and our guest today is Yvonne Vota. She is a sophomore on the women's swim team, my teammate. She swims backstroke and breaststroke, and she's also studying finance. Welcome to the show. Hi, thank you for having me. You are an international student from Seneen, South Africa, and I am interested in how that's affected your athletic experience here in two big ways. So first, how are sports approached differently?

And this is totally based on your experience, coaching, how are swimming is different, the sport life balance. And obviously, you went from swimming in high school to college, which is different in itself. So how is it different in South Africa versus the states? and then also going from high school to college swimming. I'd say the culture maybe around swimming. Back home, I was obviously a swimming club. So very individual, like on your own, doing your own thing. Same for me, yeah.

Yeah. And so that's a change. But I think that's kind of just a change for everyone coming to the team. I mean, it's a team and it feels more like a team and everyone's swimming for the team feels like that. I would say it's a lot more serious. Like, in high school, we were all seriously swimming in, you know, club, but people were still messing around and, like, it wasn't that serious. Like, I would skip practice a lot more than what I do here, and my mindset was just not the same.

But I think in general, maybe in the high school, in high school, I was just, my mindset in general was a lot different than what it is now. I feel like I've grown a lot even in just the first year and a half of coming to this. States um and around swimming back home it was like kind of fun like the people are at the swim meets and the people it was parents and coaches that you saw every day you know but they were at the swim meets they were like officialing and everything as well yeah it's a little bit different you go to swim meets and it's don't know anyone from anything my parents were trying at the last me yeah yeah they made the little signs yeah and that's nice it was so helpful because we're not used to that yeah especially with d2 the support is not the same i guess in our meats and stuff because

there's yeah you know there's not there's not a huge draw to come watch a d2 called swim meet you know we support each other yeah um so i'd say maybe that's a little bit different and obviously a big thing that i think is in america versus south africa is the pool itself is different because obviously back home I swim we mostly did long course meters so very different from short course yards and the pools back home were all outside yeah besides the one we trained in every day which was technically indoors but it was also not really indoors yeah it was like it had a roof and everything over it and it was enclosed but it was still like felt outdoors because those was all glass and like open doors open doors and everything whereas in the states all the

pools we've gone to and then I've heard most people training at especially I mean it's more north but it are indoor pools and it's like it's an adjustment because it's kind of gloomy and disgusting in then yeah sometimes so I mean compared to being outdoors yeah when we're in Florida in January for training, I'm going to really appreciate it. Yes, I appreciate being afforded to. It's so much fun. Yes. So I'd say that's a pretty big change. All right. So my second question is how is the culture surrounding food different in general and also in sports? I say we have a lot of expensive, arguand healthy products pushed to us for sports. And I'm wondering if that happens there and if it's approached differently. I'd say it does happen. It does happen very much. But people,

just don't necessarily buy into it as often. Some people do. Some people don't. We just, we don't have the, I want to say, disposable income. Yeah. To buy it. You know, most people at our swim meets, you know, we, most of the kids, you know, we're saving up money to buy our first tech suit and, you know, training suits aren't cheap at all. Either goggles, I mean, you break a pair of goggles every season yeah so i mean i was most of other stuff that i heard people that we would talk about and like eat and whatnot surrounding meats were like good healthy foods in the sense of people would try and eat good proteins or good carbs and stuff like before meats and um i always did i always took smoothies if we had long meats i made smoothies my mom got me this actually was a pretty

cool thing. I kind of want to bring it to the States. It was this hand crank like handheld smoothie maker. That's awesome. But it was like this little small thing and then it had like a little toggle that you pulled and then spin the blade and like cut up the frozen fruit and stuff and it worked so surprisingly well. I feel like if I bought one of those here it would not work. It worked so surprisingly well. Like on Amazon wouldn't work. But that one sounds awesome. Yeah, I actually want to find it in like

bring it over to the States because it was so cool. And I would take that to meats and I would like take food. And everyone would take like cooler boxes full of water and fruit and snacks and stuff. Because obviously, yeah. Because meats were like long days. Yeah. Well, in here, we just have to eat out and sometimes that will kind of mess with me sometimes when I'm used to eating healthy proteins and carbs because we prioritize that after practice.

and stuff and then we go to the meats and sometimes it's hard to pick something healthy from chick-fil-a exactly um but it's just kind of how it is so it's nice so like you were able to like pack your own things and do that kind of stuff yeah um and i'd also say like maybe surrounding the biggest thing that people always push i feel like is electric lights yes that's like one thing that companies always trying to sell you and they're so expensive yeah and so i i like liquid ivy i feel like it works pretty good i feel good i have one yeah i like liquid iv specifically i've back home there are other stuff like we have rehydrate which is like our o g brand that of like but that's just like straight um electrolytes and then we have maybe one or two other electrolytes specific brands and then

we have maybe one or two um like gatorade stuff yeah but i didn't you don't see people often drinking that. Okay. Because I see people all the time. What about energy drinks? Energy drinks, there were definitely people that would drink energy drinks, but energy drinks were not popular among athletes. Like, I see people, like, people drinking coffee at meats and caffeine drinks at meats actually blow my mind over here. That was not something that we did, that I saw people doing, or that I did, or, like, that was not normal. Okay, because it's definitely normal here. I remember the first time I noticed it at a club swim meet. It was like a sour patch flavored energy drink. And I was like, that would make me so sick. And then my friend's drinking

it just because he wants to go fast. And then he did. And it works. And I was like, that's insane because I could not handle that. But I know other people can and coffee, I will, I could not. And I mean, they're probably awesome athletes that do drink those back home, but they're not popular. comparatively yeah because people here at the meets always yeah like half our team yeah i don't know i wonder if it actually does help because it makes sense especially for short races yeah getting that like shock of energy yeah but does i don't know if that shock of energy that is any better than drinking a liquid iv or just getting like hyped up on your own like if you sleep well and are stretched and prepared for your race i don't know if that actually does help or if it's just kind of a mind thing

I wonder. I don't know. Not sure. But yeah, that's weird. Interesting. Okay. So next question. Have you struggled more with your health wellness states like getting sick? And if not more, has it been in a different way? Um, I would say my health has been pretty good. I'd say so. Yeah, my health has been pretty good in the sense of getting sick. But I definitely would say that I struggle with. The biggest thing is, my stomach and the food and what it does to me compared here to back home but yeah that's good you can talk about that um like my stomach is so messed up when i'm here it's so bad yeah it's not okay and it's not necessarily that i'm eating that different i feel like i'm definitely eating a lot different okay but not necessarily in the factor like i've still try and eat proteins and carbs and i'm eating at saga and saga's not the best but it's not like it's takeout every day

No. Definitely not taken out of every day. You can pick the right things. Yeah. And I don't know. I just feel like, I don't know if it's the food, the water, what it is, but I mean, it just. There's something different compared to what you've grown up with. Yeah.

And when I go home, it's fine. Yeah. Like it fixes itself. Oh, really? Yeah. Okay. And as soon as even Victor, when you got you, he's like, after a week of being here, he's like, this is not right. Interesting.

Yeah. He doesn't like the water. Maybe it's the water. He doesn't like the water. but I think in general. No, it's a bigger thing. It's something. Or if it's a combination, like, he's already, that's why he's fasting today because he feels gross.

Yeah. So interesting. Yeah. Okay. So how have you adjusted to that and what are some ways that you prioritize staying healthy? I know tea. Yeah. I drink a lot of tea.

Prioritize being healthy is when I feel like I'm under the weather, just immediately start, like, kind of pumping myself with some. and drinking tea and keeping myself warm because I feel like that kind of they always catches it most of the times before it gets bad yeah and then my stomach I haven't figured out how to fix that no it's just I don't think there's someday maybe yeah I don't think there's much I can do I just eat I have to eat yeah yeah yeah in high school I definitely would start maybe feeling sick sometimes yeah and I just ignore it it'll go away whatever here especially when we have class every day. We've got 20 hour weeks.

Like, you, nope, you can't just ignore it and it'll go away because we do so much. You really have to catch it early if you're starting to feel down, prioritize. Like, okay, maybe taking a rest. Yeah, maybe going to bed a little bit earlier. Yeah, anything you can do because it gets crazy. So this is Healthy as a Horse. My name is Elm Malone. And today I'm talking with Yvonne Bota about her experience at Hillsdale as a

swimmer from South Africa. On the show, I like to ask people a pretty big question that I get a lot of different answers to because it has a lot of implications. But I have often heard people saying that being an athlete at this level or higher comes at the sacrifice of your health with that phrasing. Do you think this is true? Or if so, how can we change this? And if not, do we just need to fix people's mindsets and how do we do that? I would say to some degree, definitely we do sacrifice the part of our health because it's just

we are training way too much for our own bodies to handle sometimes and we're training more than what, like how I think of it is that kind of makes sense to me is we are using way more calories and this is like something simple and like not necessarily that important

but we are using way more calories than we are can't, that we, can eat like yeah i i cannot eat enough in a day to sufficiently supply myself or level out the calories at least not every day no not every day yeah and so i mean obviously over the weekends maybe i catch up or whatever but it's not it's not consistent yeah and that's something that i think in my mind like it's got to eat doesn't doesn't make sense it has to somehow level out yeah and i mean obviously pushing your body to its limits is a good thing yeah and you should do it every once in a while but i do think um our season is long it is long and some people have it worse than

we have on our team true and i think definitely if you don't have the right mindset and maybe don't do some extra things to look after yourself, you will definitely, like, there's a reason why every year there's someone that falls out of the team, you know, like a freshman that doesn't make it to sophomore year. Like, it's hard. It's not something every person can do or should do. Well, when I had on Chris Nutley, he was saying, you know, our bodies can do a lot. They can withstand so much, but it can become unhealthy when either you become obsessed with pushing the limit, or you're pushing limits while not supporting your health outside of athletics. Yeah.

Like sleep, eating, all those sort of things. I mean, obviously, we get through it and we survive because you find the balance and you find the things to keep yourself going. But you have to, you have to find the balance. It doesn't find you. Yeah, exactly. So, I mean, I think it's fine for the duration that we're doing. Yeah.

I think anyone doing this for the way. a longer duration maybe no yeah it's not easy no for sure so i have recorded two episodes with coach curner swim coach about mental stability and toughness and about his idea of the growth mindset that he teaches i know you've also taken one of his courses and obviously we see him every day because he's our coach so how have you seen these principles affect your swimming well i i was in his class in freshman year um and i'd say it helped me a lot especially freshman year because freshman year was tough yeah obviously completely different continent um and swimming in people and place like everything's just different and so his class i think definitely gave me some tools to

help deal with the change and kind of focus on just improving myself in the things that I can't control if that makes sense so he I can't remember exactly all the things that he taught us but I think one thing I just changed like when I got here my mindset was definitely like I made it here and I was scared and I didn't know what what to expect and how it was going to be and I was suffering the first like couple months of training and being here but he definitely helped me see it as an opportunity and a privilege to be here. Definitely. He's big on that.

Helping me use that opportunity and privilege to maybe improve myself, not just as a swimmer, but as a person in my own, how I take this further in my life, I'd say. Yeah, that's awesome. So what are some ways that you want to improve upon the teachings he provided? on the teachings he provided. Well, because there's just, there's a lot of them. Yeah.

So maybe what's one or two that you want to work on the rest of the season? Maybe consistency. I've been focusing a lot on that, on that this year, and I feel like I'm doing very good on it comparatively to last year. In my own, like on not just swimming and going, you know, just in general things, habits. Physical wellness? Yes. Thank you.

Yes. And so I think I'd like to get still better. Like this is kind of like a goal in my head of consistency. Yeah. Like that takes a lot of self-discipline and I know especially this semester like it's so hard. It's so hard. It's easy to excuse bad habits with oh well I worked so hard this week in swimming or going to class and doing stuff. So I don't have to do homework tonight or I can stay up late tonight when you know sometimes that is okay but it's not a good habit you want to build consistency self-discipline always want to be getting better in that for sure so i think that's what i want to focus on that i would like to improve yeah awesome so what is the most important principle in your mind that you would advise other athletes to focus on that he taught i'd say the

growth mindset yeah the growth mindset is very powerful and i feel like he he he likes talking about it and he definitely thinks that it's a very powerful thing and I I mean I agree yeah I definitely think his whole thing about getting stuck yeah when you are not in a growth mindset is so true because I've seen it so many times I see I see it so many times and especially if you don't have like the growth mindset helps you with a lot like it helps you with maybe improving myself improving my sport improving my technique with whatever you're doing but it also helps you with if you stuck on what you did bad yeah the growth mindset helps you to kind of come over that and then move forward from that yeah because sometimes you can see what you did wrong yes yeah it's not

dwelling on what you did wrong it's like or ignoring it yeah i think people can go to both extremes pretend that nothing was wrong or oh that race was terrible but moving on immediately without figuring out what was bad about it that i need to fix or they just said and this was bad this was that this was bad when that's not going to help you. You have to be constructive. Yes. The solution for this is huge. Positive mindset.

Constructive mindset. Constructive is more important. Yes. Awesome. So as I was developing my idea for the show at the beginning of the semester, I was a little worried because I wanted all of these experts or people maybe on staff here that would make it hard to be able to get. people under the show because those people are busy and you can always have the absolute

experts um so you had the idea to just have on a variety of athletes who they're not experts but we're here all all doing this we're in it right now so um i just want to hear about your general routine about eating and how you balance that and prioritize your health what are you talked about consistency what are some of the biggest things that you try to be consistent in to prioritize your health as an athlete um definitely i try and stay away from sweet things no that is terrible, terrible thing that I'm not consistent with and I'm trying to be, but it's so bad. Sometimes it's okay. But then again, I just said that I can't eat the amount of calories so you need the calories. I just need the calories. No, but I definitely... I think having an

awareness is what matters for that one. Yeah. Maybe. But I definitely try and focus on proteins and if they have the options in front of me like choose the option that has less processed things and less added things and definitely try and just go for the basic which i feel like we have more of that this year i'm very i think it's much better yeah i definitely think this year's better especially because i switched to the 150 this year and i think that has helped me like i make sometimes i make lunches and breakfasts and stuff for my myself and that's eggs yeah and yogurt like so much eggs and toast yeah like Greek yogurt eggs and maybe a toast toasted piece of toast or yeah one slice of a

bagel which is necessarily not necessarily the healthiest option to choose from but it's not terrible it's not that's super normal yeah yeah I think I think you're doing great I think you're a very consistent person Thanks. I'm trying. There you go. All right. Well, thank you for coming on the show today, Bonnie. I'm Ella Malone, and this has been Coulouse for Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM. You know what? I'm