When the East Hampton Y.M.C.A. Hurricanes swim team competed in the state meet at the Webster Aquatic Center in Webster, N.Y., the Springs School fifth grader Novella Dunham won five state championships. Asked how it felt to be a five-time state champ, Novella said that the event helped build her confidence to make her a better swimmer. “I think all of the swimmers did great and I’m excited to have the next meet.”
Swimmers of various ages participated in relays as well as singular swimming events. Henry Sullivan, another fifth-grade Springs School swimmer, talked about how participating in the state meet changed him as not only a swimmer but also a person. “I like competing with better competitors because it
makes the swim meets even more fun. It also helps build my confidence and makes me know I can do hard things when I put my mind to it,” he said. Regan Taylor, also a Springs fifth grader, said that the meet made her a more confident swimmer too.
Springs School’s connection to the Hurricanes doesn’t stop there. One of the coaches, Sean Knight, is also a teacher at Springs. Asked why he became a coach, he explained that he has never been able to sit still very well, which is why he does not have a desk in his classroom. But when he went to his first swim meet when his son, Liam, was 7, he had to sit in the stands for hours to watch Liam swim three 20-second races.
After that first meet, he went to the head coach and offered his help. He asked Mr. Knight about what he would like to do, and he said he replied, “I don’t want to sit up there” while pointing to the stands. He has been coaching ever since. At the meet in Webster, “Our Hurricanes performed better than I thought they would,” he said. “Huntington has a huge team of 100 swimmers against our 66. We won more events, but they ended up beating us by only 18 points. Our group for 12 and under scored a lot of points for us and we were ahead of Huntington going into Sunday night. Novella Dunham scored 87 points, Henry Sullivan 91 points, and Avienne O’Shea had 89 points. We are looking to recruit more swimmers next year to go for the title.”
By Ann Peterson, Grade 6