Hollister – Good swims. Some nerves. And plenty of fun.
They were all on display as San Benito Aquatics hosted a Coast Valley Aquatics League tri meet Tuesday, an event that included swimmers ranging from 4 to 17 years old.
While mainstays of the San Benito High swimming team enjoyed a lighthearted afternoon in the sun, this meet was more about the next generation. The future. And for a few of the younger SBA members, it was their first-ever swimming competition.
For Kyle George and Harrison Hamrick, it was about a bargain to overcome their fear of never having competed by each supporting the other.
For Joe Howard, Chad Tolentino, Samantha Baer and Elizabeth Fleming, it was about partnering up to form a 6-and-under freestyle relay team.
And for Keegan Mottau and Mackenzie Thomas, it was about taking the pool in a competition scarcely a month after their first swim lessons.
“It went perfect,” SBA co-head coach Cathy Larson said of the meet which included Barracuda Aquatics of the Monterey Peninsula and Seaside Aquatics Club. “(The young swimmers) did awesome. It was really good. And a lot of the kids that were afraid of doing it, once they did their first event, they had a blast.”
Added co-head coach Christine Schafer: “They were amazing. You see little 5-year olds and 6-year olds who can barely make one lap in the pool …. Basically for them to make one lap in the pool, and to know they have to do it without stopping, they have to dive in, which is scary, and they have to swim to the other side.
“It’s teaching yourself to be in a foreign substance. If they stop racing, they sink. So they have to overcome it.”
The nerves weren’t restricted to those swimming in their first meets. Even though he estimated he had been swimming for three years, Matthew Thomas, 8, woke up with some butterflies in his stomach.
“I was kinda nervous,” Thomas said. “My body was kinda nervous.”
Asked if he was feeling better with the competition underway, Thomas said, “I’m doing much better than this morning because I finally get to do a relay with my friends at SBA.”
Another 8-year old, Chloe Isleta, drew praise from one of her coaches for an outstanding showing.
“She’s just barely 8-years old and she smokes everyone out there,” Larson said. “She came in first in everything she swam.”
For Zach Tolentino, 10, the tri meet was an opportunity to have fun while also striving to improve his times.
“It’s exciting,” Tolentino said. “It’s fun.”
Asked what he was hoping to accomplish in the afternoon, Tolentino said, “Just to get better times. I’m just excited to achieve better times.”
On that note, Larson said her swimmer’s eagerness is paying off.
“He just shut out everyone he swam against,” Larson said of Tolentino.
Josh Schafer, 12, was another swimmer intent on seeing improvement in his events.
“I’m hoping to qualify my times for Junior Olympics, for 13/14s, because I’ll age up in November,” said Schafer, who knocked off two seconds from his previous best in the 50-yard breaststroke. “My times get faster and faster every meet, but sometimes I’ll have a bad day. Like today, I didn’t get my best times in one or two events.”
Makayla Fitzgerald said one of the things she enjoyed about having all the swimmers together in the same meet was the opportunity to lend a helping hand to the youngsters.
“It’s fun,” said Fitzgerald, 13. “I just try to help the younger kids do (even) better next time. I’ll say, ‘Good job. … Just continue practicing.'”
And with San Benito High swimmers such as Shelli Reed, Lacey Larson, Katie Buzzetta and Blaine Curtice also participating in a meet that qualifies them to swim in the upcoming CVAL Championships, the SBA coaches were pleased that their younger athletes had the chance to see their role models in action.
“They get to see the bigger kids,” said co-head coach Larson, who noted that the older swimmers teach swim classes to the youngsters in the mornings. “It brings the team together as a whole. It’s nice to see what they’re working towards. Seeing (the events) done really well and fast and powerfully is really moving for these little kids.”
“Some of our kids are 3-years old,” Larson added, “and we want them to still be swimming when they get to high school and college.”
Her co-head coach agreed, saying Tuesday’s meet was just the success she was hoping for.
“What we are about in the summer is getting new kids in, getting them involved,” Schafer said, “and keeping it fun.”
