Reaching for the Wall

Reaching+for+the+Wall

Article, Parker Barden, Writer, Reviewer

For most people, swimming is just a recreational summer activity.  The city of Herrin offers a swim program in the summer, which is how many children get involved in the sport. Some of the youth swimmers, will continue their love of the sport by swimming with a local club throughout the entire year.  This year,  Parker Barden (10), Noah Blake (9), and Keaton Rosado (9) have made this year-round training commitment.  They boys train as part of the HUB Manta Rays Swim Team in Marion, with in-water practices four days a week and dry-land practice two days a week. Swim practices are not to be taken lightly. Each practice is two and a half hours long, practicing different strokes and techniques, and covering about 6000 to 8000 yards in a single practice.

Being year-round swimmers, the boys, along with their other team mates, compete at various meets throughout the season at pools including Cape Girardeau, St. Louis, Paducah, and more. After competing at these meets to achieve a USA Swim time, they can then enter the Illinois High School Association Boys Swimming Sectionals. This year, sectionals was held on February 17, 2018 at Urbana High School.  With twenty-seven school swim teams in attendance at this sectional alone, the boys placed remarkably well, especially for being younger athletes.  Parker, who has been swimming since the age of 5, competed in the 500 yard freestyle (placing 10th) and 200 yard freestyle (placing 9th). Noah, in his 9th year of swimming, competed in the 100 yard freestyle (placing 6th)  and 100 yard backstroke (placing 3rd). Keaton has been swimming for seven years and chose to compete in the 100 yard butterfly (placing 11th) and 200 yard individual medley (placing 13th). With the summer swim season just ahead, they will continue training for next year’s sectional meet. Next time, they hope to add another Herrin Tiger swimmer, so they can also compete in relays.