Meet Dylan
Dylan, 13, is an ambitious, young swimmer in our State Squad here at Grace Swimming. He used to play AFL but sustained too many injuries and so now his focus is swimming. Swimming is much more sustainable for Dylan, as its high resistance and low impact - and wow has it paid off! He loves competing, getting PBs and good times, and trying to expand on the range of events he can qualify for at meets. He discovered his love of competing a few years ago, but has been swimming since he was an infant. Dylan joined Junior Squad in January 2017 and has since moved up through Junior Squad, Bronze Squad and now in to Silvers.
Dylan’s favourite stroke used to be Backstroke, but he has since come to favour the 200m Freestyle. He would love to start making States and then go from there. He is only 1 second off State Qualifying times for his 50m Free, and with his determination and positive attitude, we have no doubt he will get there.
It is a big jump from Bronze to Silver, and Dylan says he can notice a massive improvement in his swimming since transitioning just over a year ago. “I love that the coaches push you hard and make sure you don’t take it too easy so you can achieve your goals. The training is a lot harder,” he says. “At the moment I train 5 times a week, but will be moving to 6 or 7 sessions shortly”. With each session lasting up to 2 hours, Dylan amongst other Silver Swimmers are clocking in an amazing minimum of 12 hours a week. This is amazing dedication, and we commend Dylan and his peers who are able to focus and keep working towards their goals at such young age.
Mitch Larkin and Mac Horton have been an inspiration to Dylan. Having role models can be a massive help when it comes to those moments where it all gets a bit hard. We are sure that Dylan has become one of those people for our younger swimmers to look up to. He is always giving a helping hand at Club Nights and is a very encouraging and kind person – we are lucky to have him around! So, we asked him if he had any advice for our Learn to Swim students who want to make it in to the Squad Program.
“You have to keep going. You just need to focus on the little goals. Train hard and you will feel more confident and start to reach your goals.”
Dylan speaks very highly of Club Nights, he only started attending a year ago, but he loves the atmosphere and enjoys the social side of hanging out with his friends. And so we asked him, What about those who want to compete or start doing Club Nights, but might be a bit nervous? “Always give it a go, and don’t worry too much if it’s your first time. Just have fun, you’ve got plenty more time to get serious about your swimming.” This is a fantastic reminder that you can push yourself and strive to improve, but most importantly remember to have fun. We will always learn more and get more longevity out of swimming if we ENJOY IT.
