Repeat State Champions!

I am still overjoyed at how well our swimmers performed in and out of the pool at the League and State Meets! First off; League Championships in St. Albans. We battled very Vermont weather and had everything from heat exhaustion on Friday to near hypothermia on Saturday afternoon. Thanks to the athletes and volunteers for persevering in all conditions; we raise them tough in Vermont. We had some seriously fierce 8U and 10U on Friday night who scored some big points for the team and survived the gauntlet that is the 100 IM. Also many kids were brave and did events that they do not normally do to score points for the team.

What I love most about these meets is coming to tent city (the field with all the tents) and seeing kids playing cards with each other, putting on temporary tattoos, and just hanging out enjoying each other's company and sharing in the experience.

While Saturday morning was pleasant, the afternoon session was not. Many swimmers came to me asking if we were going to call off the meet and I put on a false front and said why? I told them to give it their best, and they did despite frozen tight muscles, literally warming up in the warm up pool. I saw a lot of toughness and solidarity from the kids surviving these conditions together. A special thanks to timers, officials, and all the meet helpers who stayed strong and supported us so we could emerge on top: 2498.5 points for BTC, 1897.5 for St. Albans, and 1643.5 for Vergennes.

Then on to the climate controlled inside pool of States in White River Junction where Vermont gave us perfect weather conditions (where was the 75 degrees and perfect sunshine the weekend before?!). Our swimmers did fabulous. I was so proud to have 89 athletes representing BTC at the State meet, which is 15 more than last year! We are so incredibly deep in many age groups but especially the 10&Unders. Many events we placed multiple swimmers in the top 10. I personally enjoyed frolicking in the open air at the team dinner at Wicked Awesome BBQ. I was so inspired by the cartwheeling that was going on that I did one myself. These kiddos are the heart and soul of the team.

The 11 & Overs are wonderful leaders, mentors and seriously fast swimmers! They lead by example. So many kids stepped it up and swam out of their minds fast for the team. I told myself I wouldn’t call out any swimmer but I really have to as this is a story you all want to hear. It is like a fairytale ending and I love fairytale endings, so bear with me. On Sunday afternoon towards the end of the meet, the 50 fly happens, both Simon and Jacob stand up to the blocks side by side, explode off the blocks almost in unison and finish within fractions of a second of one another. The stadium erupts in applause as both of them have achieved a new Vermont State Record: Simon in 15-16 and Jacob in 17-18, both winning their respective age groups although Jacob won the ultimate challenge by 0.11 seconds. Everyone in the pool got to share in the heartfelt moment with the brothers as they embraced and shared in the experience and what might be the last time they get to race together. That moment embodies the beauty in the competitive experience and was one to bring tears to the eyes. The joy did not stop there, all our freestyle relays at the end of a long meet where every swimmer had phenomenal splits, including many personal bests! So many swimmers raised their level of competition for their team. Both the 15-18 year old freestyle relays swam above and beyond my expectations. Simmons University is very fortunate to have Bee Eckles who can finish a freestyle relay in 24.6 seconds. Through all of our combined efforts we finished the meet victorious for the second year at 3611 points, to St. Albans 2548 and Vergennes 2319.

Way to go boys and girls, thank you for letting me share in your experience as I sit here and wish I was going to the pool tomorrow morning for practice and planning for the next meet. Sadly the nostalgic time of my coaching experience has set in and I am already wishing for the return of June and July. It is hard for me to adjust. I dream of having this team year round and having a place for all of us to swim in the winter. I have always been a dreamer but wouldn't it be nice to have a bubble over BTC, like they do in St. Albans? Maybe, just maybe one day, in the meantime please keep swimming and I will see you all at the pool.

Yours Truly and Always,

Coach Hilary