CityView Magazine

sports The Fayetteville YMCA Sea Dragons Pool Sharks he slapping and kicking of swimmers, the echo of coaches' voices and the spin of the large fans cir- culating stagnant air fill the natatoriums on Ft. Bragg and at Fayetteville's YMCA. The silence swimmers experience in the water is in strict contradiction to the noise of the pool rooms. Youths on Ft. Bragg's Fighting Fish and Fayetteville YMCA's Sea Dragons swim teams make swimming look fun and effortless. Swimmers' heads bob up and down in the water, seem- ingly oblivious to bystanders. Swimming is a sport for the fully com- mitted swimmer and parent. Penny John- son, volunteer parent coach for the Drag- ons, said that swimming is a significant time commitment. "It's part of our life," said Johnson, who has had up to three of her four chil- dren swimming for the team at once. Johnson estimates that swimming costs each older swimmer around $200 per month. With multiple swimmers, the cost can quickly rise. The financial and time expenditures are well worth it for these swimmers. Watching the easy banter and camaraderie of both teams' swimmers makes joining alluring. Girls help T 36 | July/August • 2012 Sea Dragons and Fighting Fish circle the waters at area pools BY JENNY OWREN HANKINSON each other cram long braids into their swim caps. Within each lane, there seems to be a lane leader, setting the pace for the practices. Older swimmers swim for two hours daily six times a week. This adds up to weekly totals of 30,000-36,000 yards, or 100 to 120 laps. Lori Hill and this aquatic family in April. Walters said that he is excited to take over where former coach, Jon Meier, leſt off, while also promoting youth swimming to Fayetteville. "The Sea Dragons cannot grow and compete with the larger Raleigh area teams if we don't have the much needed support from the citizens of our fine All-American City," said Walters. A lifelong swimmer, with 15 years of coaching ex- perience, Walters said, "I love the sport, I love the smell of chlorine, and love to watch swimmers perform at the apex of joined Assistant Coach These teams, while made up of different skill-level swim- mers, gel like any sports team. The Sea Dragons, which date back to the 1970s at Ft. Bragg, be- came a YMCA team in 2008. "We are like a family," said Sea Dragon Nicole Tronolo- ne, a Terry Sanford 2012 graduate. Coach Dave Walters Photography by Anna Lester

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