By SwimSwam Contributors on SwimSwam
Courtesy: Tom Paullin
Samantha (or “Sam”) is one of my new best friends whom I have never actually met in person. Almost weekly, we talk for 30 or 40 minutes about the CSCAA Advocacy Council, an initiative she’s starting for the College Swimming Coaches Association of America. Our calls are usually busy, but we’ve found enough time to build a personal relationship. Since we’re both former swimmers and coaches who transitioned into administrative roles, we have a lot in common.
A few weeks ago, Sam had to cancel our call because of a death in her family. When we spoke the following week, I offered my condolences. Sam said it was a “pretty tough week.” She said her uncle Joey taught her, her brother, and her sister to swim and that Joey had Down syndrome. All three Smith siblings were age-group swimmers, and all three went on to swim for James Madison University. Sam became a college coach, married a college swimming coach (both of their kids swim), and later became the Executive Director of the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association, so Joey’s impact lives on.
The full power of the Joey story didn’t fully sink in until later that evening when I was resting on my sofa. “My uncle Joey had Down syndrome, and he taught us all to swim.” I waited until our next call to tell Sam how much the story resonated with me. Sam said that Joey, who was barely verbal, would toss the Smith kids around in the community pool, let them swim between his legs, teach them to use their arms, and show them the joy of summer swimming.
Sam’s maternal grandparents had nine children (one of whom died early), including Sam’s Mom and Joey, who was the second youngest. Joey’s father, a tough WWII veteran who worked in the Pennsylvania coal mines before getting a job at the Hershey chocolate plant, was Joey’s constant companion. When it was time for the swimmers to start their workout, Joey would spend the whole time in his swimsuit under a warm shower and greet the competitive swimmers with an enthusiastic “Happy Day!” after their practice.
Joey’s story reminded me of Billy, a young man with Down syndrome who, according to Billy’s obituary, was the “Assistant Coach” of my college swimming team. Our college coach, Archie Harris, was passionate about helping people with special needs and ran a summer camp that offered them a fun, outdoor learning experience. Coach Harris became close friends with Billy’s parents, and they would often accompany our team at away meets and on our Winter training trip in Ft. Lauderdale.
Amid discussions about Joey and Billy, Sam recalled reading about a young man named Parker, also with Down syndrome. Parker met the Arizona State University swimming team after Sun Devil swimmer Zoe Summar worked wity him in a class for her major. Parker had swum on a high school team and missed that experience after he graduated. Zoe introduced Parker to the ASU team, and he got to hang with them and was named honorary captain for one of the team’s meets. Coach Herbie Behm said his team “had a blast” getting to know Parker and that it was a humbling experience for all of them to include him in their routines.
I admitted to Sam that some of my teammates would teach Billy inappropriate remarks about pretty girls who wandered by when we were on the beach between workouts. Sam told me how her brother got in trouble with her parents for teaching Joey to give the “single digit salute.”
In the end, Joey, Billy, and Parker have shown us that a team is defined not only by the people who compete in meets, but also by those who bring joy, encouragement, humor, and love to the pool deck. Archie understood that, and he made sure Billy had a place among us; Herbie and Zoe made Parker part of the ASU team, and Sam’s family understood it, too, giving Joey a life filled with purpose and belonging. Though Joey, Billy, and Parker never met, they demonstrated that everyone has something important to contribute to a team.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: Joey, Billy and Parker — Sam, Archie and Herbie: A College Swimming Story about Belonging
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