Pat Haws vividly recalls his introduction to Tom Kubinski, the standout from Osseo who would go on to become one of the greatest swimmers he ever coached.
It came shortly after Kubinski first arrived at Saint John's University as a freshman in the fall of 1982, having turned down a number of opportunities at the Division I level in favor of the academic opportunities and sense of community he said he felt in Collegeville.
"I was standing on the side of the pool," said Haws, the Johnnies head swimming and diving coach from 1973 to 1998. "Then, all of a sudden, I'm hanging out over the water, and whomever it was that had me from behind was giggling and laughing.
"I turned around and he said 'Hi Coach. I'm Tommy Kubinski.' That was my first impression of him. Most guys come into their first college practice a little intimidated by their coach with their knees knocking. This guy was joking around and holding me over the pool.
"And he was strong enough to do it."
It was an early example of Kubinski's sense of humor and ability to find the brighter side of any situation in which he found himself. Those traits served him well not only at SJU, where he was a five-time MIAC champion and six-time All-American over the course of his collegiate swimming career, but also later on as he first battled addiction, then two bouts of Stage 4 throat cancer.
"A lot of people have considered me the class clown over the years," Kubinski said with a chuckle. "I just think humor is important in life. It doesn't just lighten the load on you, but it lightens the load on others around you as well."
Kubinski entered college after a very successful career in both the AAU and prep ranks.
As a senior at Osseo, he finished second in the 50-yard freestyle at the state meet. His time of 21.44 seconds – recorded in 1982 – still stands as a school record in that event. He also remains the school record holder in the 100 freestyle (47.43 seconds, set in 1982) and still ranks fourth in the 100 butterfly.
But his first season with the Johnnies got off to a slow start due to a case of mono that kept him out of the pool for almost three-fourths of the season.
"That was tough," he remembers. "I went to a class or two, then back to my dorm room to sleep. I'm sure Pat was wondering what he got himself into with this guy. Because I wasn't really able to do much at all. But I sat down with him and John Merkle and told them I still really wanted to get to nationals. I asked them when I needed to be in the pool by in order to give myself a chance to do a full taper and get myself ready.
"They gave me a date and I got in that pool. It was brutal at first, but I made it work."
Indeed he did, winning the 50- and 100-yard freestyles at the 1983 MIAC meet and finishing second in the 100 butterfly. His time in the 50 – 20.90 seconds – was not only a pool and conference record, but made him the first swimmer at the Division III level to break the 21-second mark in the event. He went on to finish sixth at the Division III national meet in Lexington, Virginia, and helped lead the SJU 400 freestyle relay team to an 11th place finish – earning All-American status in both events.
"He didn't really get the chance to train but, man, was he fast," Haws said. "It was really his positive attitude that made him so good. He believed in himself. His self-image was high. His technique was great. He had a wicked-fast turn, though it was kind of unconventional. He sort of turned on his stomach. It was more like a pivot, and it was something no one else was doing. But it worked for him.
"He was really one of the guys who started putting our program on the national map."
"After I set the MIAC record in the 50 that season, I received a letter in my PO box," Kubinski remembers. "It was from (legendary former SJU football coach John Gagliardi) congratulating me. I remember thinking that was such a big deal. On what other campus would a successful football coach take the time to congratulate a freshman on the swim team?
"I saved the letter, and when he went to the White House (in 2003) to be honored for becoming the winningest coach in college football history, I sent him a copy and wrote 'Right back at you Coach.' That was a gesture that meant a lot to me."
Kubinski went on to repeat as MIAC champion in the 50 and 100 freestyle in 1984 and won the 50 for a third straight time in 1985. He finished eighth in the 50 at nationals as a sophomore in 1984, and again as a senior in 1986 – the same season he earned All-American honors as a member of both the Johnnies' 400 medley and 400 freestyle relay teams.
"We sent seven swimmers to nationals that year and we came up with a motto – 747," Kubinski said. "We wanted all seven of us to come back as All-Americans and we actually accomplished that goal."
Kubinski credits much of his success to something Haws told him early on during his time at SJU.
"He said, 'Tom, you've been swimming for quite some time now and you should know what you need to be successful. So let me know what that is, what type of workouts you need to do during the season and especially during taper, and I'll make it happen.'
"I remember being shocked. He was telling me I needed to be accountable for my success or failure. Most coaches tell you what to do and expect you to follow – right or wrong. Here was a coach who wanted to collaborate with me. That was when I started to realize what made him so good.
"He was the best coach I ever had at any level. He was a man of high integrity, inspiration and leadership. And he helped you become what you were meant to be."
Kubinski went on to a successful career in the printing business after graduation, got married and started a family. But in 2000, he recognized he needed to seek help with some personal demons.
"Nobody can show you when it's time," he said. "Sometimes you have to hit the bottom. Fortunately, my bottom was high compared to others I'd seen. But I didn't want to let it get any worse."
Kubinski has now been sober 23 years, but his battles didn't end there. In 2009, he was diagnosed with throat cancer and underwent treatment at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. It was successful, and after five years he remained cancer free, but …
"I kept going back for follow-ups even though insurance didn't cover it," he said. "Both my wife and I had friends who discovered cancer again after nine, 11 and 13 years. But by that time, it was too far gone and they're no longer here. I didn't want to have that happen."
That vigilance helped discover a second occurrence – this time detected on the other side of his neck – in 2016. Another round of treatment followed. But this time, while staying at Mayo's Sandra J. Schulze American Cancer Society Hope Lodge, he used his spare time to write a book entitled "How Dads Can Make a Difference," which examined how staying sober had changed his family's life for the better.
He followed that with a second book, entitled "2-time Stage 4 cancer SURVIVOR says...", which chronicles his own cancer journey and offers help and guidance to others facing similar situations.
Both books – which are available for purchase on Amazon - were authored under the Kubinski's pen name Papa Kubs.
The group of those facing similar situations now includes his wife Katie, who discovered a tumor on her spine in late 2020 and was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer as well.
"At least, having gone through what I'd gone through, I was able to ask the right questions and advocate for her," said Kubinski, who over the years has continued to support his alma mater as a member of the SJU J-Club Board, an advertiser with Johnnie athletics, as a booth presenter at the Minnesota State Fair and in many other ways.
"I was able to call up the team that had helped me at Mayo and they got her in right away."
Both Kubinski and his wife are doing well now, though each know they can take nothing for granted. But through everything he and his family have faced, he has kept that same upbeat attitude he had when arrived at SJU for the first time 41 years ago.
Those upbeat values have also been adopted by his three children. Daughters Alexa and Victoria each attended the College of Saint Benedict, helping lead the Bennie dance team to national championships.
His son Collin was a three-sport state medalist at Wayzata High School.
"I've never said 'Why me,'" he said of the adversity he has weathered. "I've never let myself go down that path. As an athlete, and in life, we face setbacks every day. Ours is not to question why.
"My faith tells me God gives you a path for a reason. Maybe it's saving you from something worse, or maybe it's because there's a lesson there that will allow you to help someone else. You just have to take each day as it comes."
