As the Olympics wrap up Aug. 8, inspiration has swelled as the nation watched athletes from all over the world express profound feats of fulfilled potential. Aspiration has also swelled in some area teenagers.
The Aiken-Augusta Swim League has seen this inspiration in action with four motivated young swimmers who show considerable promise, according to coaches. Though their goals currently vary, their potential and passion for the sport shines through.
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Hudson Burch, Amelia Harper, Claire Norris and Collin Skedsvold finished third at the Southern Zone Championship in Mississippi tin July 26 through July 31.
For some of the young swimmers, a drive to win was their initial impetus for joining the ASL.
“I first started when I was in fourth grade,” said Skedsvold, 16. “Me and my friend were looking for something to do in the summer, and we came across summer league swim, and it got real competitive between us, and we wanted to get better and see who’s the best swimmer among us. And then we all started swimming club.”
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For others, participating in the meets are an opportunity for camaraderie.
“With team bonding, it was a lot of fun to meet everyone and get to know them,” said Harper, 15.
While all of these swimmers enjoy the sport, winning and developing their skills, their personal goals vary. The Olympics can be a goal for some, but most of the swimmers are looking to the here and now.
“I never really dug too deep with that,” said Skedsvold. “I’m going to try and take this as far as I can and run with it. We’ll see what happens as we run along, but who knows.”
Their participation in the sport has forged a focus and a deep appreciation of what it takes to achieve, which entails a careful optimism. For Harper, the next career target is making it in college swimming.
“I want to swim in college as well, but I think what a lot of people don’t realize is it’s one thing to make Olympic trials and it’s another to make the Olympic team,” said Harper. “But it’s so difficult to get top two in the trials. It’s already a big goal, and then Olympics is so much further up there, so I think college is one of my next goals.”
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Their coach, ASL program director Greg Gillette, is all too aware of their potential. As a coach for 20 years, he has a strong sense of what gets even the most talented kids to that Olympic dream.
“It takes a certain amount of skill and natural talent, but then it’s just commitment,” said Gillette. “There’s not a single person who made that Olympic team this year who wasn’t swimming eight to 12 sessions of two hours a week plus doing six to 10 more hours of out of the pool work, and it’s year-round. It’s a never-ending cycle.”
Gillette notes that perseverance is key to maintaining that commitment and the self-control to hone one’s natural talents.
“We just keep our eyes on the long term, and so long as the trajectory is steady going up I think we’re good,” said Gillette. “To me that’s the difference between a lot of those Olympians and kids that don’t make the Olympic team is how they react to failures. A lot of kids at the Olympic trails failed on the first day, in their first race, and had to bounce back from that failure to get better with the second one and make the team on their second race.”
The swimmers themselves find the process as refining their character toward the kind of grit and determination that Gillette refers to.
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“I think it sets you up with a good mindset, because you’re very goal-oriented once you start swimming, and then in everything in school or trying to get a job,” said Norris, 15. “It makes you more resilient.”
Burch, 15, even finds that being part of the sport strengthens and disciplines one for life’s difficulties.
“You’re choosing to put yourself through whatever pain you’re putting yourself through,” said Burch. “So once you learn how to deal with that pain, you can deal with other things.”
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Regardless of their current intentions, these four young swimmers are examples from the Augusta area of aptitude being enthusiastically sharpened toward endless, even Olympian, possibilities. For them, and for their coach, the joy is in the journey.
“I like to see kids setting a goal and watching it happen,” said Gillette. “I’ve had kids make Olympic trials, and that’s been great but I’ve also had kids make a senior cut or state cut, and that might be the top end of their career, but they’ve set that goal.”
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter with The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
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