Swim Town on the Hudson Posted on 8-9-06
by Erin Quinn

SWIM TOWN on the Hudson

The Hudson Valley has become a haven for swimmers both young and old

First Published in the New Paltz Times

 While New Paltz is on the map worldwide as a rock-climbing haven, it is also home to another, less visible and less high-risk sport -- swimming. According to Chris Joyce, an officer in the Empire State Swim League (ESSL), there are more than 20 swim teams in the Hudson Valley in the ESSL league as well as three Tri-Club teams in Orange and Ulster counties. “There are over 2,000 swimmers involved in these programs from ages six to 18,” says Joyce. “Swimming is a lifetime sport and one we should encourage in our youth. It doesn’t put the kind of abuse on your body that other sports do.”

Not only are there year-round ESSL swim teams, year-round USA swim clubs like the New Paltz-based Hawks, the Marist team and Kingston team, but there are thousands of children involved in the summer DUSO [Dutchess and Ulster County Swimming Organization] leagues which train at their individual, outdoor public pools. In fact, the Sea Hawks at Moriello Pool in New Paltz had more than 150 children participate in its team this year, making the Sea Hawks the largest of the eight DUSO league teams.

New Paltz, Kingston and Marlboro also boast high school swim teams, yet New Paltz and FDR are the only teams in the twelve team OCIAA-league which do not have a home pool. There are active masters clubs in Ulster County, particularly in New Paltz, where several of our experienced swimmers including Terry Laughlin, Paul Strothenke and James Bacon have won regional, state and world championship titles.

New Paltz Times sports reporter Rich O’Corozine says that “New Paltz has always been a running town but it has become a swimming town.”

Yet, with all of this popularity, there are few facilities to support the swim enthusiasts. Many of the best swimmers in the world come from tropical climates. In the United States they tend to come from California or Florida where they have access to outdoor swimming all year round. But champions are also fostered in big cities or communities where there are adequate facilities to provide for year-round training.

            “It’s a real shame that the high school does not have its own pool,” says O’Corozine. “Especially since they just built an addition onto the school. It would have been the perfect time to for them to have considered building a home pool. They weren’t really forward-looking.”

Yet even without a home pool, O’Corozine did note that local swimming star Cameron Bartlett was able to win the state 100 meter breaststroke title this past winter. “Which is pretty incredible, considering their lack of proper training facilities.”

Laughlin, who recently swam around Manhattan, medaled in the World Championships in the two-mile open water masters competition and is a world-renowned swim coach and owner of Total Immersion swimming based in New Paltz, agrees that there is a shortage of pool-time in the area for those with a passion for the water.

“We do have a scarcity of year-round water time,” he says. “The Hawks certainly experience that as we cannot get pool time [at SUNY-New Paltz, where the Hawks along with several other clubs and teams rent pool space] prior to 7:15 p.m. some nights, while kids’ teams elsewhere can start practice right after school. And some nights we’re limited to one hour and 15 minutes, and that will, at some point, limit the growth of the team. We give swimming instruction to many people at the swim studio, but are at something of a loss in being able to recommend to them where they might go to practice. Swimming isn’t just a game; it’s an essential life skill, and one you’re likely to do for as long as you live. Not too many people play most of the other youth sports past their teens, while swimming will remain an ideal activity into your 80’s if you’re fortunate to live that long. Indeed when people ask why I swim I tell them it’s because I want to be strong, supple and graceful at 85.”

Hash Al-Mashat, the head coach of the Hawks as well as the coach of the Rosendale Rapids summer team, concurs with Laughlin that for the amount of swimming popularity and engagement in the community, there is a great lack of proper facilities.

“I think with all of the swimming that goes on in this area and its popularity there are very few pools,” says Al-Mashat. “A lot of the pools that we do have in the area are outdated and in need of renovation. And the few indoor pools that exist are booked solid. The Hawks have to share the SUNY-New Paltz pool with the college team, the master’s club, the YMCA, the high school team, students and faculty.”

Because of the competition to get into the pool, the costs have gone up and at any point, SUNY reserves the right to boot any or all teams out if the needs of its own constituents are not being met.

“An ideal situation would be to have an indoor pool complex,” muses Al-Mashat. “Not only would it provide the community with the access it desires to a healthy and enjoyable sport, but it would certainly raise the level of swimming in the area. The teams that are the most competitive have their own unfettered access to 50-meter pools. It’s that simple.”

Bacon, a New Paltz town councilman, local attorney, father of four and swim champion who brought back six medals from this year’s Empire State Games, believes that swimming is not only popular with the youth in the area, but also with adults of all ages. “I am familiar with the masters people and it is tremendously popular,” notes Bacon. “In the summer, people swim at Minnewaska, Moriello and the County Pool. Year-round we swim at SUNY and some people also go up to Kingston. Former college swimmers from Marist and New Paltz still swim hard. Poughkeepsie Masters has a huge team and they brought back a lot of medals from the Empire State Games. The ESG has allowed people like me who were once very competitive swimmers…to see if we can still do it “

Noreen Delay and her husband Bobby are both swimmers as well as their seven-year-old son Dylan, who is a member of the New Paltz Sea Hawks and Hawks swim club. “We definitely, absolutely, without a hesitation think the area could benefit from a year-round swim program,” says Noreen. “Whether in a local school or private, I support it wholeheartedly -- not just for swimmers, but for exercise for therapeutic purposes, for elderly, for those that don’t know yet they are swimmers. The college is not user-friendly for those just wishing to work out. What stands out most about swimming is that it is just the ultimate sport for body fitness -- endurance, muscle, minimum stress.  Water is calming and great for the mind.”

Jeanne and Bob Eckles agree with Delay. They too, enjoy swimming with their family and have two swimmers, 12 and 9 on the Rosendale Rapids in the summer and the Hawks Club year-round. “We would love to see a public-access pool that is open all year,” says Jeanne Eckles. “It is difficult to find places to swim locally out of season, and it is expensive and often prohibitively so to swim on a team at private pools like SUNY.  Having access to the pool all year would assist all age groups by not limiting them to only summer swimming.”

Why is it so popular?

As those who the New Paltz Times interviewed so eloquently point out, swimming has a plethora of benefits for people of all ages, including fitness, relaxation, stress-reduction and being part of a team. But it also has something else -- it is one of the few sports that can be enjoyed by the entire family in one place.

If you have your children in soccer or baseball, both great sports, you’re likely to be running from field to field, conquering and dividing, one parent here, the other there, deciding whose game to go to and which one to miss. If you’re a single parent, the duties are even more divisive and exhaustive. Most team sports are separated by ages and thus, unless you’ve spawned twins or triplets or Irish twins, you’re likely to have one on t-ball, one on rookie ball and another on majors. You could also have one in diapers, one on a town-sponsored soccer program and another on a travel soccer league. The combinations and destinations are endless.

Par contre, swimming allows for all ages to be under the same roof [in winter] or the same sky [in summer]. There are dozens of families that have two, three and four swimmers in various age groups competing in the same meet. Even while the young ones practice, parents can often enjoy the lap lanes themselves, or take their toddlers to the kiddie pool to cool down.

I’m personally guilty of pushing our three- and five-year-old towards the lap lanes, gently encouraging them to try and swim across the length of the pool with my help, or better yet, without my help. Why? Because I want them to swim, and swim confidently, not for the glory, no, but for cost-savings on gas and the chance for us to travel in one car.  If we can get our five-year-old on the Sea Hawks next year, that means we only have to chase one around during the meets!  Hell, even though she’s still wearing swim diapers, our three-year-old is already leaping off the diving board and trying her best to imitate her brother’s freestyle. It’s a contagious sport, and one most children love to do, if they’re exposed to it. No gear really, just goggles and a suit. [Unless you have the good fortune of being on the coast of Spain -- then all you need is your birthday suit.]

More than that, there is a wonderful sub-culture to competitive swimming. In the summer leagues particularly, there is a real carnival-like atmosphere with tents being pitched, hair being sprayed different colors, costumes being worn and hot dogs and popsicles being enjoyed by the kids, parents, grandparents and friends. People are spread out on quilts or on lawn chairs, reading the paper, playing the crossword puzzle, or standing poolside cheering for the team. I scream as loud as anyone whether or not it’s my kid. Any kid whose name I know, whether they’re on our team or not, I can’t help cheering for. They’re so damn adorable! In this, I’m not alone. There are many new and seasoned swim-parents who revel in the meets, or who privately revile them, because like any parent-organized sport, there is lots of volunteer work to be done from manning the snack bar, to baking in the sun with a stopwatch, to recording the times and filling out the ribbons.

The Delays enjoy swimming as much as their young son does. “Bobby and I are as knee deep in swimming as Dylan is, so it must be a family sport,” says Noreen. “And for those with siblings -- do they have a choice? They grow up at the pool.  Also, friends become family. I have warm regards for many of the relationships we have formed in swimming…I love how we all look out for each other’s kids. As I ponder swimming, it is so hard to pinpoint the exact reason for the connection -- I just know our experiences to date have enriched us all and Dylan benefits immensely by the many life lessons he has learned, as well as a great little physique!

“Our children love swimming and seem to have found their 'niche' with this program [The Hawks,]” notes Jeanne Eckles.  “The kids got involved initially because they love to play in the water. They later started to take swimming more seriously (although not all the time) and saw it as a form of sport as well. The benefits we have found with swimming are the physical aspects of it -- being able to exercise in a manner that is also enjoyable. Being part of a team and learning cooperative and social skills, learning how to interact with other children who they might not have come in contact with otherwise - especially some of the older kids on the team. Swimming seems to be very popular in this area.  The children often invite friends to go swimming at the public pool, and it is rare for them to miss a practice because they want the chance to be in the water.” 

Everyone in the Eckles family swims. “For our family swimming is a family sport because we can all engage in it at whatever pool we go to.  When the children were younger it was necessary to stay close to them in the pool, and this encourages interaction on a level in which we would all play together rather than going off on our own…As parents, we like to see our children engage in sports for their own pleasure, but it is nice to know they have something active to do that is fun for them. Frances [12] has improved by going up one level on the Hawks and becoming a much stronger swimmer.  Frances sees swimming as a sport of her own where her individual accomplishments benefit the team but also make her proud of herself and Freeman, age 9, who also swims on the Hawks team and was with the Rapids over the summer.  Freeman is a very active boy, and swimming can not only use that energy in a positive manner but he sees the results from positive use of his energy.  Freeman has his wall covered with his ribbons and certificates, and he is also very proud of his contribution both individually and as a member of the team. “ 

Bacon, who has four children that all swim, agrees that it’s a great family sport. “Absolutely. Everyone can participate whether it’s competitive or not. There is nothing more fun than throwing your 2-year-old up in the air and splashing around in the water -- they love it and so do I. Also, even if I had the money, I’d never build my own pool. I think the value of going to the community pool and seeing people and swimming together is much more valuable and healthy for our kids. Just knowing they can take care of themselves in the water and are having fun as I did when I was a kid.”

Laughlin’s three daughters have certainly fallen in the footsteps of their father. “All three of my daughters coach or teach swimming and I’m absolutely tickled to death that they’ve chosen to do that,” says the swim coach.

Another issue that many swim-enthusiasts touched on is that swimming is a basic life necessity. At some point in your life, you’re almost certain to be around water. It’s an issue of safety as well as fitness and family bonding. “If you don’t learn how to swim and you fall off a boat you’ll drown,” Bacon points out. “I think humans naturally love the water, love to play games in it. For kids it is great exercise, leaves you feeling refreshed and as for being on a team for me was a great experience as a child as it has been as an adult.”

Swimming, like running, rock-climbing or Nordic skiing, seems to be a natural by-product of the bountiful outdoor region we live in. “I think the swimming interest is really a facet, though substantial, of the entire interest in health and fitness in New Paltz embodied by the Shawangunk Ridge and Minnewaska,” muses Bacon. “That 12,000 acres brings a lot of interest from being the rock-climbing capital of the East Coast to hosting one of the premier triathlons in the world -- the SOS [Survival of the Shawangunks, in which competitors cycle up the mountain, then swim Awosting, Minnewaska and Mohonk Lake, running endless miles in between.] There also are bike clubs, running clubs, hiking and triathalon clubs. I think if a detailed comparison occurred we'd be one of the most physically fit parts of the US... So I think it’s really the beauty of the mountains that has brought us all here and competitive swimming is an outgrowth of loving to live here and fully experience the joy of life around the Ridge.”

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