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Swim Florida sending nine to Junior Olympic Championships
ROGER LALONDE / Staff
Brandon Thoman of Marco is among nine Swim Florida competitors in the Florida Swimming Summer Jr. Olympics.
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He might still be more than a year away from high school, but Brandon Thoman has big goals for his first prep swimming season.
“I think I can be the fastest swimmer in high school,” the Marco Island Charter Middle School eighth-grader said. “I’m psyched. I feel good about high school.”
Of course, even the most confident swimmer can be intimidated by the pressure and sheer amount of athletes at district, regional and the state final meets. That’s one of the reasons this weekend is so important to Thoman.
Thoman is one of nine members of the Naples’ Swim Florida club participating in the Florida Swimming Summer Junior Olympic Championships this weekend in Gainesville. The event, running today through Sunday at the University of Florida, serves as the state championships for swimmers ages 14 and under.
With more than 800 kids competing for titles in three age groups, the Junior Olympics will not only test swimmers’ speed in the pool, but also their nerves and mental toughness.
“This is incredible experience,” Swim Florida coach Tom Keer said. “This meet is bigger and faster than most (of the swimmers) have been in. So as they go through their career, they won’t be fazed by other big meets.”
For the three Swim Florida 10-year-olds headed to the Junior Olympics, the experience is invaluable. By the time they reach high school and are ready to compete for state and maybe even national and Olympic titles, they will have five or six Junior Olympics under their belts.
For the older swimmers, they’re looking for medals. Thoman will compete in six events in this his fifth Junior Olympics. Four other Swim Florida members also will swim in six events each: Haley Keer, 13; Michael Pineda, 12; Dylan Keer, 10; and Rip Lyster, 10.
Pineda, an eighth-grader at Corkscrew Middle School, is coming off a Spring Junior Olympics in which he finished third in the 50-meter butterfly. He also swam six events in the spring, and admitted the enormity of the event had him on edge.
But once he hit the water, any anxiety quickly went away.
“You’re up there, and you’re nervous and a little excited in between events,” Pineda said. “Then you jump in the pool and it’s all gone. If you’re tired, hungry, anything you’re feeling when you jump in it’s all cleaned. It’s just the will to win.”
Other Swim Florida members competing in Gainesville are: Katie McKeon, 14; Conner Heflin, 12; Zac McKeon, 11; and Libby Lyster, 10.
There are Junior Olympics in every state, but Tom Keer said Florida’s event is one of the fastest. He said the 13-14 age group will put up times to rival those of the FHSAA state finals.
Keer added that the summer Junior Olympics, which use a 50-meter pool, are tougher than those in the spring, which have a 25-yard short course.
“It’s really difficult just because all the best in your age group are there,” said Haley Keer, her coach’s daughter who’ll be a freshman at Palmetto Ridge in the fall. “I want to drop time and hopefully get in the finals since it’s my last year.”
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