Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2009

These two are going places in the water

Matt Taylor is on cruise control. That is, if you consider getting up at 4 each morning for the first three-hour round of daily swim practices cruising. The second round of practice goes from 3 to 6 p.m.

The Sanderson High School senior recently signed a scholarship to swim for Florida State University and has turned the pressure gauge off.

"I'm a senior," he said. "I have less homework than my fifth-grade sister. I have already signed with a college, and I'm coasting."

It has not always been this way. Despite an easygoing manner, this athlete is a strict disciplinarian.

"As a swimmer, I have to practice good time management," he said. "After I get home from practice at night, there's no TV. I have to get my homework done and get to bed early so I can make my 6 a.m. practice the next day."

The discipline and hard work have paid off for Taylor, 17. He returned earlier this month from the 2009 Speedo Short Course Junior National Championships at Ohio State University, where he placed ninth in the 200 freestyle; 18th in the 100 freestyle and 27th in the 500 freestyle events, swimming withYMCA of the Triangle Area.

"Matt possesses a combination of speed and endurance," said coach Chad Onken. "He was among the top 20 swimmers at the Ohio State meet."

Taylor is a freestyle specialist. "It's my favorite stroke, and it just comes naturally," he said.

Taylor has been swimming half his life but really got serious about the sport when he qualified for the state YMCA meet when he was 12.

His teammate Sabrina Benson is a sprinter. Her versatility shows in her ability to compete in several different events, and her endurance shows not in long distance races but in the sheer volume of events she can swim at any given meet.

At the Junior Nationals, Benson raced in five individual events and five relays.

"I was extremely tired by the end of the weekend," she said. "But at the YMCA Nationals, I usually do that much or more."

At the Junior Nationals, Benson placed eighth in the 100 backstroke; 16th in the 100 butterfly; 25th in the 50 freestyle and 30th in the 200 backstroke.

Swimmers from nearly 100 teams nationwide participated in the three-day event.

Anyone who tuned in to the 2008 Olympic swimming events can remember that much of Michael Phelps' power started when he was underwater at the beginning of his races and on his turns at the end of his laps.

Swimming underwater is effective because there is less resistance below the water surface.

"If you have the strength to kick underwater, you have a huge advantage. Only the best of the best swimmers are able to do it," Onken said.

A junior at Broughton High School, Benson, 16, is a top sprinter, but she also excels underwater. She never thought about her unique ability until her coach suggested she try it.

"I have strong legs, and it's faster to go underneath the surface," she said. "I kind of picked it up on my own and just kept practicing until I could go farther and farther."

FINA, the international federation of water sports, allows swimmers to kick underwater just 15 meters at the start of races and off each wall.

Benson started swimming in the summer leagues when she was in the first grade. She went year-round at age 10.

"I like the people I meet from swimming," she said. "I have made my closest friends through swimming."

Taylor agrees it's the camaraderie and great competition that keep him in the pool.

"The competition makes you better," he said. "If you're not feeling that great, there are eight other guys in the pool that will help me get there."

Benson loves the feeling she gets when she finishes a race. "At a meet, when I am finishing my last race, I love to feel the burn and see my time and see that I have done well," she said. "The feeling of accomplishment is something you can't take away."

Both swimmers count on their experience racing the length of the pool to help them get ahead in life.

"Sometimes you just don't want to go to practice, but you can see a light at the end of the tunnel, your accomplishments, and those accomplishments depend on practice," she said. "I know if I keep working, I will getplaces in life, eventually."