The numbers? Nope.
Meets? Uh-uh.
Motivation? The Durango High School boys swim team has enough of that to make up for the rest.
Theyre the most determined and hardest working athletes Ive ever worked with, DHS dive coach Mark Fleming said. Theyre obviously doing it for themselves rather than because theyre told to.
They is the total of six swimmers competing on the DHS team this season, braving the 5:30 a.m. practices and the two-a-day workouts voluntarily, no less.
Up to this point, they havent even been rewarded with much competition, either. Saturdays home meet at the Fort Lewis College pool is the Demons third of the season and their first in more than a month.
Its not exactly the situation first-year head coach Tom Joyner might have hoped for, but its not without its benefits. Namely, that dedication.
Itd be nice to grow the team, be back at a fighting weight, so to say, Joyner said. But weve got a great core of boys on the team right now.
A core made for core workouts, as Fleming would tell it.
In addition to the morning practices, the boys have been showing up for afternoon isometric workouts run by the assistant coach Basically like CrossFit on steroids, he said.
They train twice a day every day. ... The kids come to me and say, That has made me a better mountain biker, a better skier. When I go running, I feel the difference; when I go skiing, I feel the difference, Fleming said.
Swimming, too, aided by Joyners technique tweaks and hard-work-first mentality.
Joyner dubbed himself a lifelong swimmer, competing from age 8 through his first year in college.
After taking a break, Joyner joined the Durango masters team about a decade ago, which has led him to several state meets, two national masters competitions and the U.S. Masters Worlds at Stanford in 2006.
In one nationals meet in, he even took second place in the 1,650-yard swim for his age bracket.
All because of hard work and attention to the details a lesson hes trying to impart to his swimmers, in addition to fine-tuning the little things in their strokes.
Tom has been great. Hes brought a lot of cool new things, Fleming said. Old school ... with a new-school mindset.
Hes really good at picking out the really little things in your stroke, said freshman swimmer Ben Miller, who also will be competing in his first-ever dive competition Saturday. Hes really good at seeing somebody and picking out the little details.
Its not really my job to really change or alter what theyre doing. They all come to the table with some really good strokes, new techniques, Joyner said. That said, I definitely, through my own experience, I came to the realization some years ago that hard work pays off, and theres no substitute for yardage.
For the Demons, thats meant some 5,000-yard practices, but its also meant some quick success, despite the lack of competition.
In just two meets, Durango has qualified in six individual events and two relays, already qualifying four of their six boys for the state meet.
Theyre rising to the challenge, Joyner said.
Qualifying the final two, Fleming said, is one of Saturdays goals, even if winning the meet from a team perspective is an uphill battle against the numbers against a much bigger Grand Junction team.
I think we should get everybody to state, for sure, Fleming said. Whether we win the meet or not, their individual times and their individual progression will definitely show.
Saturdays noon meet is the last one before the Western Slope District Championships next Friday and Saturday at Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction.
What Im looking at this as is more of a training meet, Joyner said. What I want from them is to sort of see where their potential is, see where theyre at. Then taper that down to a point.
jsojourner@durangoherald.com
