ATHLETICS
Youth Movement in Competitive Swim
I
n 2004, the MAC competitive swim team was hovering around 50 swimmers. The pipeline from the lesson program into competitive swimming was all but dried up. The team was desperate to find a way to revitalize a program that was once a force at the local and national level.
Most run-of-the-mill high school teams get 50 swimmers to participate. Sure, they don’t put in the year-round work that club swimmers do, but there had to be a way to change the fact that the swim team was ushering itself out of the competitive arena. This sparked a need to revamp a lesson program in need of change. Coach Cyndy von Weller was brought in to coach novice swimmers and reorganize the lesson program, while Steph Turner worked to make MAC an approved SwimAmerica program. The move affected both learn-to- swim and novice participants. The changes von Weller set in motion created an under- current responsible for developing kids from the lesson program to the highest levels of the MAC competitive swim team. From the fall of 2005 to the fall of 2008 the lesson program flourished, and provided an oppor- tunity for the largest tryout for the novice level in recent history – 75 swimmers. With the influx in numbers at the novice level the team started building a foundation of kids, and the lesson program was a huge help. In fall of 2008, the coaching staff saw another change. Cyndy moved from the novice groups to the 13-and-under age- group swimmers, and Spencer Crum became the novice team coach.
“Coming in as a coach there was a lot I
didn’t know, but the one thing I did was how to get kids excited about swimming,” Crum said. His goal becamse to teach kids a love for the sport and give kids confidence in the water.
Keeping swimmers involved
The hardest part about athletics at MAC is that there are so many athletic options. This is one of the reasons the team was small in 2004, and it’s the reason there is a high turnover in the 12-and-under ranks on the swim team. Although, since 2010 the team
backstroke. “It’s remarkable to have a kid like Matthias swimming for you,” Crum says of the 7 year-old. “When he’s in the water he’s having fun, but the level at which he works out is off the charts.”
Highest level of competition
Participation in MAC youth swim- ming has increased dramatically.
has retained a huge number of athletes that has led to a major growth in both the talent level and size of the MAC swim team. The team that bottomed out at 50 members in 2004 is now over 150, and boasts 68 kids in the 12-and-under ranks who compete regularly. When MAC swim- mers attend a meet, an army of swimmers hit the water with great technique and some of the fastest times in the state. Van Mathias has anchored the 12-and- under swimmers for MAC since he joined the team in spring of 2009. He has domi- nated the field in his age group at state competitions in the sprint butterfly events with back-to-back state wins in the 50-meter butterfly in 2010 and 2011. He’s learning what it means practice hard, setting an example for athletes who are right behind him, looking to swim stronger and faster. The team is home to more and more families; siblings continue to stand on the shoulders of those who are in the age group right above. One swimmer exemplifying this is Matthias Kreutzer, 7, whose sister Elise is a state qualifier in several events. “The group of kids I’m working with right now is special,” Crum said. “There are about 10 kids who could be swimming in the next level and another four or five who could swim with the kids in the top age group team.” Matthias is one of those swimmers; with top times in the state in butterfly events and state qualifying times in the freestyle and
The number of MAC swimmers at the state meet has been steadily rising the last few years. With six qualifiers just three years ago, MAC takes nearly 20 athletes from the 12-and- under age group this year. The state meet is the top meet for many of the 12 and under swimmers and more are pushing to qualify. Swimmers at MAC are hungrier and more
prepared to succeed whenever they dive in for a race.
The team has changed its strategy on preparing kids for swimming at the highest level. When kids start, they experience monthly novice meets. These give experi- ence for what happens at an actual meet and reinforces what kids need to do at any given meet. Next, they’ll check out local meets, which are also typically monthly, but they start later in the season after swimmers have participated in several novice meets. Recently two 9 year-old boys, Max Fitzloff and Peter Hinnen, achieved their state qualifying times in their very first meet. The number of kids on the team who have the potential to do that is staggering.
February marks the beginning of the championship short course season for swim- ming. The meet, held yearly in Springfield, features MAC’s top swimmers in the 10-and-under age group. As of December, 15 athletes qualified for state. The team currently has 75 kids 10-and-under who have been swimming for more than a year. The numbers are welcome because kids are setting the bar higher with each new swimmer added to the team. Be ready for when these athletes are in middle school and high school, they are going to show Portland and the nation what it means to be a swimmer at Multnomah Athletic Club. WM
MARCH 2012 | The Wınged M | 69
Spencer Crum
Cyndy von Weller
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