AN INSIDE LOOK AT THE OLYMPICS

As all eyes focus on the 2012 Olympics in London, we sat down with YMCA of the Triangle (YOTA) Swim Coach Chad Onken.

YOTA Head Coach Chad Onken

After all, nine of his former and current Y swimmers qualified to compete in the Olympic Time Trials. Former YOTA Swimmer Charlie Houchin will swim alongside Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps in a quest for a gold medal in the 800 Free Relay.

What do you say to a young swimmer who wants to be the next Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte or Charlie Houchin?

Focus on your own development in the water. It's not a race against other people in your event. Our goal is to help our athletes eliminate their weaknesses and expand their own strengths.

Nine YOTA athletes qualified for the Olympic Time Trials. Can you put that in perspective?  

Not every team in the country had athletes at this meet -it's quite a privilege to have one swimmer at Olympic Trials. Keep in mind, in 2000, YOTA didn't have a qualifier. In 2004, we had one. In 2008, we had a small group of former YOTA swimmers at the meet, but none representing YOTA. We are blessed to have nine athletes who qualified for this year’s event.

What is the recipe for YOTA success in the pool?

It really is a team effort. First, I credit the culture of the YMCA. We have a

team-first focus that has created a family atmosphere. We work hard on the long-term development of our athletes. Our coaches are ridiculously talented. They really are the best coaching staff in North Carolina. It also helps that we have great athletes who are very goal-oriented. They simply get the job done.

The success of the YOTA Swim Team makes spectators wonder if there is something special in the water.

I wish it were that easy. I'm proud of the YOTA organization and everyone who is involved with what we do. I'm even more excited for the 2016, 2020 and 2024 Olympics. I feel confident that the YMCA will be sending even more athletes!

This summer has been amazing for the YOTA Swim Team. How proud are you?

Outside of the actual Olympic Games, the Olympic Time Trials in Omaha was the largest stage for our sport. It was amazing to have so many YOTA athletes represent us there. Many of these athletes have been swimming with the Y since they were very young. It makes me feel good about the YOTA program and what we’re doing.

YOTA: GOING FOR THE GOLD

The nation’s best swimmers are competing in Omaha, Nebraska June 25 – July 2 to determine who will represent the USA in the Olympic Games in London. Seven current and former YMCA of the Triangle Area (YOTA) swimmers are diving into the action.

“At the YOTA Swim Team, we have a team-first focus. We work hard at the long-term development of our athletes,” says Chad Onken, YOTA Swim Team Head Coach.

YOTA Swimmer Charlie Houchin 
2010 GETTY FILE PHOTO - GETTY IMAGES

The success of the YOTA Swim Team makes spectators wonder if there is something special in the water. Head Coach Chad Onken laughs off that theory. He credits some old-fashioned methods for the team’s lightning speed.

“We have the best coaching staff in North Carolina. And, our goal-oriented athletes simply get the job done.”

Those athletes are Sabrina Benson, Charlie Houchin, Dominick Glavich, Joe Bonk, Zach McGinnis, Colin Ellington and Nick Walkotten, who also serves as an assistant coach of the YOTA Swim Team.

“I am a coach first and an athlete second, says Walkotten, “It has been a juggling act to make sure I'm prepared to coach my groups and also find enough time to train myself. Wearing both hats has allowed me to maintain my athleticism by training smarter, not just harder.”

The competition is fierce. More than 1,800 swimmers are vying for 26 slots on the men’s team and 26 slots on the women’s team.

“I'm even more excited for the 2016, 2020 and 2024 Olympic Trials,” says Onken. “I know YOTA will be taking even more athletes.”

For a schedule and results go to usaswimming.org. You can also keep tabs on our YOTA swimmers on the YMCA of the Triangle website.

YOTA Dives In: Black Heritage Swim Meet

According to a study commissioned by USA Swimming, nearly 70 percent of black children and 58 percent of Hispanic children have little or no ability to swim. Fourteen years ago, a group of North Carolina parents decided to change those statistics.

They formed a traveling swim team called the North Carolina Aquablazers and in 2003, they started the National Black Heritage Championship Swim Meet.

This year, 738 swimmers participated May 28-29 in Cary. The YMCA of the Triangle (YOTA) Swim Team sent 38 swimmers to the meet, 30 of them from the Durham YMCA. Read this email Durham Coach Tom Hazelett received from a parent.

Dear Tom and the YOTA Durham Coaching Staff, 

Tom & some of his YOTA team

This is to you and the other coaches. I just wanted to take the time  to thank all of you for your thoughtful dedication toward the kids. What I saw in you and your whole team of coaches is what coaching is about. Even though my kids don't swim for the Durham  YOTA team, you all took the time to give them the structured pointers that they needed to improve their abilities.

I don't want to leave out, that it was done in such a way, that they had a very fun time at the meet. You and your team of coaches, along with the kids that my kids don't normally swim with, deserve to be recognized.

Any coach can take a gifted kid and make them better, but it takes a great coach to take kids with average abilities to levels they never thought possible. You and your coaching staff have what it takes.

Thank you all.

p.s. You are building a great group of kids at the Durham site. YOTA is not just about swimming and it shows.



YOTA Team After the the Race


To learn more about the meet, listen to a recent WUNC-FM interview with Tom Hazelett, Aquatics Director at the downtown Durham YMCA and Durham site coach for the YMCA of The Triangle swim team.  To learn more about the YOTA Swim Team, click here.

Young Swimmer's Disability is Her Strength

Amazing things happen every day at our YMCAs. Just ask the folks at the A.E. Finley YMCA who watch Hannah Aspden train. This article about the young YMCA of the Triangle (YOTA) swimmer was featured in the May 3 edition of the News & Observer. Click here to learn more about the YOTA program.

Hannah Aspden was born to break rules.

She has been bucking conventional wisdom since she was old enough to walk. Except for Hannah, learning to walk was a challenge. She was born with just one leg.

Hannah is 10 but seems older. She's tall and athletic, with blonde hair and blue eyes. She possesses a wry sense of humor and smiles often, flashing a set of braces. She's not at all self-conscious as she perches, flamingo-like, at the edge of a pool on one leg.

Hannah Trains at the A.E. Finley Pool

Hannah's parents, Jennifer and TJ Aspden, believe their daughter was born to overcome challenges, and they're just along for the ride.

"From the beginning, we decided to let Hannah be independent and to give her every opportunity to succeed," her father said.

Hannah was born premature and missing her entire left leg.

"It's called a congenital hip disarticulation, as she has no leg at all on her left side," Jennifer Aspden said.

Even a decade ago, information on how to deal with babies like Hannah was scarce. In the stressful six months following Hannah's birth, her parents feared for their baby's future. But as Hannah grew stronger, her fighting spirit emerged. Today, her parents' fears are gone.

"Once Hannah started trying to climb out of her crib, we knew everything would be OK," TJ Aspden said.

Eager to succeed
As with all babies old enough to start walking, Hannah started pulling up on furniture. But when she tried to take her first steps, she simply fell down.
While doctors discouraged the use of a prosthetic to help her walk, her parents insisted they try. Success was immediate.

"She was able to balance right away and then started walking," her dad said. "She taught the doctors a lot."
Teachers, friends and complete strangers who encounter Hannah learn from her every day.

Hannah started leading by example the day she followed her older brother off a diving board into a neighborhood pool when she was 4. She came up swimming and has not stopped since.

"Compared to other 10-year-olds, Hannah is a very good swimmer," said Patrick Curran, her coach with the YMCA of the Triangle Swim Team. "She's fully confident that she can compete on the same level as her peers. She is starting to see herself as an international athlete."

High-level competitor
Hannah recently returned from her first international competition, the U.S. Paralympics Spring Nationals/2011 Spring Can-Am Meet, held April 7-9 in Minneapolis. She was the youngest swimmer at the meet, according to results posted on the event website.The event was significant for Hannah because it was the first time she had seen other athletes with disabilities like hers.

"It was cool. Everyone had something different, but we didn't see each other for their disabilities because everyone was like that," Hannah said. "I saw how others deal with their challenges and saw that they were all just glad to be there and happy."

Hannah has been able to turn an obvious disability into strengths that are not visible to the eye, Curran said.

"Hannah's biggest strength as an athlete is her self-confidence," he said.
She also has tremendous core strength and upper body power. Although Hannah uses a prosthetic some of the time, she mostly gets around on crutches and by hopping.

"Using crutches has caused her arms and upper body to become very solid," her coach said. "She engages her core by hopping. Her sense of balance comes from her core strength, and high level swimming is about the core."

She climbs monkey bars, plays soccer and roller-skates, using crutches to propel herself at top speeds around the rink. She would love to try track and field, and she fully believes she can learn to jump hurdles.
Her upper-body strength pays off during games of tag, too.

"When someone's about to tag me, I can just jump up a tree and get away," she said, laughing.

At ease with herself
Hannah, a fifth-grader at North Raleigh Christian Academy, enjoys reading, making jewelry and playing the guitar. She would like to swim in the Paralympics or even the Olympics someday.