It’s hard to believe that the season is already over for the 2016 Chattanooga Area Swim League.
It’s seems like we just got started and now it’s all in the rear-view mirror.
I remember vividly my first experiences covering this league. I was working at the News-Free Press at the time and got assigned to go with Paul Schulz to Warner Park for the City Meet. My job was to type results and that was a full-time job as we reported all 16 places at the time.
That’s been years ago and I’m now happily employed by John Wilson and the Chattanoogan.com.
I began my sports writing career way back in 1979 as a way to share positive news about young people.
Most of what I cover these days involves high school sports, but this summer swim league is an exception to that rule.
In the beginning, I covered summer swimming simply because there wasn’t anything else to do or cover. And I must confess that it wasn’t much fun as I was totally bored watching a bunch of young kids compete.
But since that time, summer swimming has sort of grown on me.
Yes, it’s still the only thing to cover for the month of June, but I’ve fallen in love with these kids and the manner in which they go about their sport.
Swimming may appear to be easy and I guess it is if you’re not in a hurry or not in a race. But these guys – and girls – take competition to another level.
Some are really experienced and know just how to dive in from those starting blocks, but it’s those little kids who are really entertaining.
Like a new puppy that’s totally new to the experience, they know they have to “hit the water” and do their thing. They all have different styles, but they all have to courage to take that first step and that’s what really motivates me.
It really doesn’t matter if it’s freestyle, breast, back or fly, most of them are busting their tails from the time they enter the water until they reach the finish-line wall.
It’s always fun to observe these kids during a meet. As you might imagine, they come in all sizes, shapes and forms. Some are really fit and take this sport very seriously. Others appear to be there for the social aspect with the post-meet meal being their top priority.
But to watch them compete twice a week for the past month and then to watch them do battle at Baylor in the Bill Caulkins City Meet this past weekend at Baylor, I was thoroughly impressed, inspired and entertained.
While all the swimmers are so much fun to watch, Chattanooga is really blessed to have a bunch of coaches who invest tons of time without a lot of financial reward just to see their kids get better.
It’s all about having fun and generating a positive experience for them, many who have never been part of team sport of any kind.
These coaches come up with some really great ideas to generate enthusiasm and spirit. Take Signal Mountain coaches Jake Sosna and Will Hunt for example.
As a show of total team spirit and with the idea of creating the same with their swimmers, these two guys painted their fingernails and toenails Signal Mountain green for the city meet.
Something must have worked because the Green Giants walked away with the championship trophy Saturday night.
Most folks don’t have any idea how much training goes into a sport like swimming. These teams practice twice a day and they swim more laps daily than most folks do in a lifetime.
As the old saying goes, practice makes perfect.
As you know, we reported lists of high-point scorers following every meet. There are some kids I feel like I know personally because I typed their name every time they swam.
And it was interesting to see those same kids in the finals on Friday and Saturday night as most were swimming for the top spot.
But when all was said and done on Saturday and the final heat of the final event had been finished, those same names kept reverberating in my head.
Gracison Saylors is an eight-year-old girl who swims for the Dalton Dolphins. She’s obviously really good because she won all five of her events and finished the meet with 100 points.
Fairyland’s Ellie Taliaferro is a 12-year-old speedster for the Flash who did the same, but in a much more impressive fashion as she broke records in four of the five races she won.
She may be one of the most competitive and driven athletes I’ve ever watched. No doubt she got this way naturally as both her parents are competitive and highly driven to succeed.
But Ellie has a Tiger in her tank unlike anybody else.
As the competitors for each race walk from one end of the Baylor natatorium to the end where the starting blocks are, some are looking up in the stands to find their parents or best friends or a familiar face of some kind.
But Ellie is all business as her eyes are focused straight ahead as she zones in on the race at hand. She’s as serious as the day is long and the results show as her long, hard work pays off handsomely.
Another thing that’s amazing about this young lady is that she tore her ACL while playing lacrosse in January. There was a huge question if she would even be able to compete at all, much less in record-breaking fashion.
She looked pretty close to 100 percent on Friday and Saturday.
But it’s kids like Ellie and Gracison who inspire me to start swimming again.
Names like Emma, Julia, Brighton, Jacob, Roman and Will make me want to rise from the dead and get back in the pool.
It’s folks like Jewel, Grayson, Emilio, Reece, Reese, Oscar, Jillian, Anna, Gwennie, Peter, Jason and Jon Pat who prove to me that swimming is really a great sport and that anyone – even an old fat guy like me – can do it.
I just want you guys to know that I went to Fast Break Athletics Monday morning and bought a new pair of goggles. I had an old pair in my workout bag, but they’re probably dry-rotted by now, so I bought a new pair.
I then went to the Y where my goal was to run a mile before swimming 500 yards.
The run was the easy part as I knocked that out in just over 10 minutes on a treadmill before heading downstairs to the pool.
It’s not that I dreaded it, but I knew it would be the hardest part of my workout. The pool was crowded, but I was able to share a lane with my good friend John Eberly, who may be one of the best swimmers in this town and certainly one of the best coaches.
The good news is that I eventually got through 500 yards. That’s only 10 laps, but it seemed like 100.
While those kids this weekend were turning in laps of 25 seconds and less, I finished my 10 in about 15 minutes. I was able to exit the pool under my own power and I climbed those steps back to the men’s fitness center with a smile on my face.
I’m sure the next time won’t hurt nearly as bad, but my goal is to go back and do it again tomorrow.
And when I do, I’ll think about all of those youngsters who had so much fun during another summer season.
Maybe one day I’ll be a little more like them.
(email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)