The old Chinese proverb states that a journey of 1,000 miles begins with one small step. For swimmers, it begins with a single stroke.

The sport of swimming is most notably recognized for its Olympic athletes; however, true successes are not bound to only national and Olympic level athletes. Success reaches all throughout the sport, from our novice level programs, all the way up to our senior and adult Masters programs. Swimming is noted for being the perfect medium to help build character, and teach its athletes the benefits of dedication and goal setting. While the goals from one swimmer to the next are different, some goals are much more unique than others. The traditional goals in swimming usually comprise of getting a new personal best time or qualifying for a higher level of competition. Some athletes make it a goal to finish a full lap of Butterfly without stopping. Other athletes like Darcy LaFountain set different goals that redefine the limits of just how far the human body can go.

Darcy is a part of the FLA Masters program in Delray Beach and has been enjoying the benefits of swimming for over 50 years. She swims twice a day 6 days a week for fitness, fun, and her overall well being. Amongst her goals of achieving personal best times and finishing a full lap of breaststroke, Darcy is a true test of character and dedication by setting her eyes on swimming farther this year than any other woman in United States Masters Swimming. In 2010, Darcy was the top female athlete and 3rd overall having swam an unmanageable 1,290 miles. That’s the same as swimming from Miami to New York City.

For 2011, Darcy is currently one of only 14 swimmers out of 2,755 participants to have swum over 1,000 miles this year in USMS’s “Go The Distance” competition. She is currently 6th overall with a total distance of 1,141 miles as of 12.07.11; and she still has almost 4 weeks to go.

To participate in USMS’s “Go The Distance” competition for 2012, please visit https://www.usms.org/fitness/content/gothedistance and enter for a chance to earn some special prizes.

–Story By Richard Garza

Plantation,FL—The FLA Women’s Team is in the middle of quite an impressive streak of excellence. They have won six consecutive local area titles, whether it was Senior Champs (twice a year) or Winter Champs (once a year). That streak continued over the weekend, during the 4 rain-soaked days of the 2011 Winter Championships at Plantation Park.
The FLA Divas racked up nearly 1400 points, 300 more than their closest competitor. Even more impressive than the point total, was how the team scored. The women scored often, from all FLA Sites, and all age groups, from 9 year olds to the seniors in high school. The tremendous depth was the key for the women’s relentless attack, and the key to winning their sixth straight local title.
The FLA Men’s Team placed third, respectively, and was the only team in the top 3 that didn’t use any swimmer above the age of 18. Utilizing an abundance of homegrown talent, the Men’s team impressed, scoring nearly 900 points, despite going up against teams using imported swimmers from other countries well into their 20’s and 30’s. By all accounts, the men’s team is the most talented group of teenagers the club has ever seen, and they proved it again this weekend.
Overall, Team FLA won 29 individual and relay events, and nearly triple that number of top 3 finishes, providing plenty of man power and excitement for nearly every finals heat swam at night.

Orlando, FL– During the 3-day State event, which is comprosed of the Class 1A, 2A and 3A state meets, Team FLA athletes brought home individual and relay Gold Medals in 7 events, from 4 different athletes. FLA’s champions were led by CAL commit and American Heritage senior Lauren Driscoll’s 4 titles, (2 individual and 2 relays), Tennessee commit and Boca High Senior Harper Bruens (1 Title), Boca High Junior Jason McCormick (1 Title) and Florida Commit Ryan Rosenbaum (1 Title). This senior class that FLA has in place may go down as one of the best in the club’s history, with several swimmers committed to Division 1 colleges.

Team FLA also had several swimmers final and compete at states. Here is a breakdown of how they fared by class of meet:

Class 1A
State Champs: Lauren Driscoll, 200 MR, 400 FR, 200 and 500 Freestyle. Ryan Rosenbaum, 500 Freestyle.
State Finalists: Emily Ramirez, Becky DeRogatis, Reagan Byrnes, Brianna Dumas, Jenny Zislin, Andreas Reyes-Capo, Isabela Reyes-Capo

Class 2A

State Finalists: Jose Alvarez, Lance Rutkin, Kaylee Petik.
State Participators: Mikaela Aponte

Class 3A

State Champions: Jason McCormick, 50 Freestyle, Harper Bruens, 100 Freestyle.
State Finalists: Kevin Matheus, Steven Vergona, Josh Asseraf, Sam Carona, Nikki Coard, Kristof Kertesz,
State Participators: Jamie Gurley, Katie Zientarski, Nick Van Zee, Macarena Marcos, Cheyenne Rodriguez, AJ Reid, Osianna McReed

Listed Below are two Sun Sentinel Articles about last night’s festivites, where Coach Duffy Dillon, one of the most influential swim coaches in the country, was elected into the Broward County Sports Hall of Fame.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/recreation/fl-online-broward-hall-fame-1107-20111107,0,7504206.story

www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/miami-dolphins/fl-broward-hall-fame-1109-20111108,0,1572656.story

The top 8 swimmers in each District, for each class of schools, moves on to compete this week in their Regional Meets, and hopefully, qualify for the state meet.  Many FLA swimmers, competing in a variety of disctrict meets for many various schools, Made that big first step this past week, as the run to the State title meet began.

Below is a list, by district, of how Team FLA fared:

Class 1A District 10

District Scorer:  Elizabeth Zubero

Class 1A District 11

District Champions:  Lauren Driscoll, Ryan Rosenbaum

Regional Qualifiers:  Jenny Zislin, Becky DeRogatis, Brianna Dumas, Regan Byrne, Emily Ramirez

Distric Scorers:   Elizabeth Price, Diana Rodriguez, Brooke Crist

Class 1A District 12

District Champion:  Andres Reyes-Capo

Regional Qualifiers:  Nico Junghahn, Guy Fernandez, Isabela Reyes-Capo, Isabella Antonini, Carlota Sanchez, Laura Zadenberg

Class 2A, District 12

District Champions:   Mikaela Aponte, Lance Rutkin, Jose Alvarez

Regional Qualifiers:   Kaylee Petik, Keyana Williams

District Scorers:  Lusheen Loggins, Ian Vicnansky

Class 3A District 8

District Champions:   Kaylin Cullinane, Jason McCormick, Jamie Gurley, Harper Bruens, Kevin Matheus, Steven Vergona

Regional Qualifiers:   Mads Anderson, JR Sims, Fon Teawdatwan, Nick Van Zee, Sydney Polacek, Richie Merrill, Crystal Maya, Colleen Williams, Rachel Fleishman, Katie Zientarski, Taylor Hupp, Delany Hanes, Jessica Smigielski, Adam Reiser, Austin Reiser

District Scorers:   Rachel Nebenzahl, Natalie Jones, Peter Anderson, Addison Reiser, Brandon Stein, Adrian Horrigan

Class 3A District 10:

District Champions:   Felipe Bricio, Amanda Tipton, Kristof Kertesz

Regional Qualifiers:  Erika Fassler, Josh Asseraf, Chelsea Lopez, Osianna McReed

Class 3A District 11

District Champions:   Nikki Coard, Josh Zarrabeitia, Facundo Betancor, AJ Reid, Macarena Marcos, Cheyenne Rodriguez, Veronica Gruelach, Harry Reid, Ray Lowenstien, Brittany Graff.

Regional Qualifiers:   Leah Behar, Shira Losos, Christina Fella (plus all of the District Champions)

District Scorers: Elan and Aaron Lowenstien, Cindy Acosta, Stefanie Garcia

Class 3A District 12

Regional Qualifier:   Jessit Perez

District Scorer:  Eddie Torgas

For all of the latest results from the High School District Swim meets, please click the following page. http://www.fhsaa.org/node/6672

You have to be at least top 8 in your region and then overall 24th individually and 16th relay across all 4 regions to make the State Championship in each class.

Epic Challenge.

The start of any journey always begins with a single step. Many will agree that it’s not always the final destination that matters, but the journey required to get there that makes the entire experience worthwhile. When I asked Sergio Radovcic, “Why?” his answer was “Because…” and smiled. He then added “it’s a challenge, it’s out there, and it’s fun for me.”

Sergio joined the program in Delray Beach one year ago in the hopes of improving his technique, and overall speed for open water swimming. It was not easy in the beginning; he had some very bad habits to break through and not a lot of time to spend in the water. When Sergio is not running one of his 3 companies, you will find him running a marathon, or going for a 6 hour bike ride. Sergio is a special type of athlete that has gained some recognition in recent years; he is an ultra marathon competitor. Last January, he ran 4 marathons, with an injured foot. He also ran the Key’s 100, a race that starts at mile marker 100 in Key Largo, and ends at mile 0 in Key West. He swam around Key West, twice in a two week period; and has competed in over 20 Iron Man competitions.

When Sergio told me he was invited to compete in the Ep1c Man Challenge. I had to know why someone would want to compete in a NON STOP TRIPLE IRONMAN competition. The Ep1c Man challenge is a 7.2 mile swim, 336 mile bike, and a 78.6 mile run, and it has to be completed in less than 60 hours.

The value of this challenge is measured by the journey Sergio is taking to get there. As part of his training, he will be competing in two Iron Man competitions this month to prepare for the ultimate test of mind, body, and spirit.

Congratulations, and good luck on all of your achievements Sergio.

For more information about the Ep1c Man Challenge, please visit their website.

http://ep1cman.com/

–Story by Richard Garza

Dear FLA Aquatics.

The FLA Masters team is one of the top Masters programs in the nation. We strive to inspire our athletes to succeed not only at meets, but also at practice. Successes in Masters can come in many different forms; for some of our athletes it may be earning their first blue FLA cap by making top 10 at Nationals. Finally entering in the 100 Fly, or making the jump from Group 3 to Group 2.

For Francesca Kennedy, success to her meant finishing the Coral Reef Swim in St. Croix on October 9th, 2011. Francesca first became a part of our program when her son, Chase, became a Future Star swimmer last January. After watching her little one swim up and down the pool, she remembered how much she loved the ocean and set her eyes on the open water swim in St. Croix. She joined FLA Masters in May and during her first practice, she could not swim 2 laps without stopping. Her goal of finishing a 2 mile swim in open water looked grim.

Francesca’s journey was not an easy one, on top of being a loving wife and mother, working, moving to a new home, and many other obstacles that prevented her from achieving her goal. We are proud to announce that Francesca Kennedy, competed at the St. Croix Coral Reef Swim and finished the 2 mile swim with a time of 1:06:07 and placed 3rd in her category. It has been a long road for Francesca, going from 2 laps to 2 miles in only a few months. http://www.swimrace.com/

–Coach Richard Garza