Aquahawks show newcomers fun of swimming

In sports, it is not uncommon for a team to perform a cheer before competition. Last Friday at the Lawrence Indoor Aquatic Center, a pair of 7-year-olds, Carter Stacey and Delaney Rettele, did just that.

Before diving into the pool, with one hand on top the other, the two yelled out the Aquahawks’ team motto.

“We are the Aquahawks! The mighty, mighty Aquahawks! If you can’t hear us we’ll yell a little louder!” the two shouted out.

Rettele was a member of the Aquahawks last year, and was so excited before practice that she jumped around on the cement and swung her feet from the stepladder near the edge of the pool.

When asked why she was so eager to jump in the pool, Rettele enthusiastically replied, “It’s fun!”

Stacey, a first year member of the Aquahawks Discovery team, saw the Aquahawks up close last year and considered joining the team.

“Well, I was watching them swim and they were really good,” Stacey said. “And I thought it would be fun, so I did.”

At the Aquahawks practice, Rettele and Stacey dove into action as coach Ashley Sullivan instructed the students to grab their kickboards, stretch their arms to the top of the board and kick. This type of swim was the flutter kick.

Rettele performed this kick with ease as she swam the length of the pool without stopping. And then, just for fun, she demonstrated her ability to do flips under water. Stacey also did a few twists and turns of her own while under water. And she listened intently as Sullivan advised her students to keep their feet flexed while swimming the breaststroke.

From the edge of the pool, Sullivan watched her students very closely and even stopped practice to remind the swimmers to turn their heads and catch a quick breath while they swam.

Sullivan said seeing the kids learn to swim and reach their goals was very rewarding from a coaching perspective. But working with the students is what it was all about.

“I really enjoy interacting with them and just being a role model for the kids,” Sullivan said.

Having a coach such as Sullivan may not have been possible for area swimmers if not for Bill Barnes.

Before the founding of the Aquahawks in 1968, Lawrence had four separate swim teams. Concerned parents and swimmers of the teams eventually came together and formed the Lawrence Swim Club, which later became the Aquahawks.

For nearly 40 years the Lawrence Aquahawks have taught area youth the art of swimming. The Aquahawks program is a non-profit organization that trains swimmers from all ages ranging from novice to skilled performers. The students do swim competitively, and over the years, many Aquahawks have gone on to compete at the collegiate level and the Olympic trials.

Barnes became the team’s first coach and worked to improve the program’s structure and popularity. Over the years some significant developments have taken place, including the construction of an indoor practice facility in the 1980s, receiving permission to use the pool at Haskell Indian Nations University in the 1990s, and building of the Indoor Aquatic Center that swimmers and fans have enjoyed since 2001.

Mike Soderling has been head coach of the Aquahawks since 2002 and serves as general manager. He has seen club membership increase to about 180 members this year. Soderling, a former swimmer at Kansas University said while some students go through the program and compete at higher levels, the program’s first objective is to educate.

“Our main goals are to teach them the four basic swims,” Soderling said. “The butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle.”

And while learning different swimming techniques might sound easy, Soderling said it is actually quite difficult, especially for beginners.

“Most of them have an idea about freestyle,” Soderling said. “But learning the butterfly seems to be the hardest.”

But even though learning new swimming techniques can be difficult, Soderling said swimming was a great way to promote the sport as being healthy and fun.

He added that what he enjoyed most about working with the kids was watching them have success and building relationships with them and their parents.

And with strong support from the area, the relationship between the Aquahawks and the Lawrence community will continue to be a strong one for many years to come.