Stingrays hosted swim meet with Quechee and Manchester

Starting horns sounded and cheers reverberated off the walls of the Edgar May Health and Recreation Center on the afternoon of July 1st as the Connecticut River Valley Stingrays hosted Quechee and Manchester in a youth swim meet.
http://www.vermontjournal.com/content/stingrays-hosted-swim-meet-quechee-and-manchester

Stingrays Hosted Swim Meet With Quechee and Manchester Submitted by admin on Tue, 07/08/2014 - 3:37pm By SUMMER RITTER The Shopper SPRINGFIELD, VT -Starting horns sounded and cheers reverberated off the walls of the Edgar May Health and Recreation Center on the afternoon of July 1st as the Connecticut River Valley Stingrays hosted Quechee and Manchester in a youth swim meet. The Stingrays are competing with a group of 20 swimmers this summer. The team comes together for meets after practicing in “Junior” and “Senior” divisions during the week. The Junior swimmers, who are typically ten years old or younger, practice an hour a day on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The Senior swimmers, who are eleven years old and up, practice for an hour and a half four days a week. Early on Saturday mornings an optional stroke clinic is held. “It’s a real motivated group of kids,” said head coach Pedr Seymour of his team. This dedication is noticed by lifeguard Tom Vaughan whose shift typically overlaps with the team’s practice at least once a week. “A lot of kids come in a lot of extra time,” said Vaughan, who also noted that he sees these young athletes in the pool even between the winter and summer swim seasons. Despite competing with a slightly smaller team in the summer than winter, primarily due to family commitments, Seymour notes that he has some “all-star” athletes. “We have some swimmers who have been swimming since six years old,” he said. One such young swimmer is Katelyn Ferris, who is participating in her first season. “Your coach works you really hard,” she said of her favorite part of swimming. “It makes you a really fast swimmer.” Her older sister, Alyssa Ferris, who is a veteran competitor, shared the sentiment that practices can be hard. Katelyn noted that the most challenging part of swimming is “learning all the strokes and trying to try them out,” but she enjoys swimming backstroke and freestyle events. Alyssa enjoys swimming the butterfly, a stroke often dreaded by swimmers due to its challenging technique. She also enjoys the swim team because it allows her to “meet new people and have new experiences.” Despite being a newcomer, Katelyn has big goals. “I really want to go to UVAC,” she said. “For Regional’s,” her mom Amie explained. This is one of the most competitive meets of the season held at the Upper Valley Aquatic Center, which challenges the swimmers to meet qualifying times. “I really want to be a champion,” said Katelyn. Amie thinks highly of swimming and the Stingray team that her daughters are a part of. “It’s a great sport,” she said. “They all have fun. It’s a nice team atmosphere here.” Coach Seymour agrees. “This is an amazing swim team with an amazing group of families,” he said. “It’s a fantastic experience.” Seymour has been with the team for a year and a half. He began as assistant coach but took over the head coach position after the former head coach stepped down. This is the third squad that he has coached; he also started the Edge Swim Team in northern Vermont which has grown into the largest swim club in the state. In the pool, Seymour’s swimming resume includes Brattleboro, Deerfield Academy, and Hobart College. In addition to coaching the team, his daughter is also a member. “It’s a great, tight group,” said Seymour. “We have a really first class swim team here.” He noted that the swimmers and families are provided with quality swim instruction, strong relationships, and value, compared to other larger, more expensive swim team options. His goals for the program include growing the numbers slightly, but not so much that the current attributes of the Stingray program are lost. “We want to bump our numbers up a little bit, but not a lot,” he explained, as development of these young athletes is a priority. “We’re able to create a lot of value on this team,” he said. So far, this philosophy appears to be effective, as the Stingrays will have a presence at the large meets at the end of the season. “Everyone has qualified for states in at least one event already,” he said. This is an impressive feat considering the season is still young. Seymour noted that the summer schedule is more rigorous than the winter schedule, for the team will often compete in multiple meets in one week, whereas meets are spaced out more in the winter. The Stingrays will compete on the road before returning home July 15 to host Killington. New swimmers are always welcome to join the Stingrays. More information about the program can be found at myreccenter.org. - See more at: http://www.vermontjournal.com/content/stingrays-hosted-swim-meet-quechee-and-manchester#sthash.QoFpPTEX.dpuf