PART OF THE GANG
DANVILLE — It's one thing to love swimming recreationally, but competitive swimming is a different story. No one knows this better than Elliot Young.
When the idea of Young joining Danville's swim team was broached, it was met with skepticism.
Young, a freshman with Down Syndrome, had never competed before, and there were concerns about his capabilities and how he would take instructions.
Those concerns subsided quicker than the time he's taken off in the 50 free since his first meet in early December, giving the team a new outlook in the process.
"When someone mentions their kid loves swimming, they usually don't know what swim team entails — it requires a lot of skill that everyday swimming doesn't," Danville coach Danielle Sticklin said. "I didn't even know he knew how to swim as well as he does, but I'll also never forget the excitement the other kids had when they heard Elliot was joining the team. ... They love his sense of humor."
His teammates, many of whom are also friends with his older brother, Griffon, a senior, have made Young feel like he has been part of the team since Day 1. One of those is senior Jackson Blansfield, who has known Young since he was five.
Young — for whom Sticklin found she had to be more precise with instructions — was put in flippers and asked to swim fewer laps than the others to get acquainted with the stresses of competitive swimming. Blansfield was there, giving advice where needed.
"I approached it like everyone else. Anybody can learn to swim if they want to — it's more technique than anything else," Blansfield said. "I look out for the younger swimmers because the older swimmers looked out for me, and I like the team camaraderie."
A handful of swimmers — Blansfield, Alyssa Bergenstock, brothers Cedric and Donte Brown, and Samuel Madara — have become some of Young's closest friends.
"I like swimming with my friends. I'm pretty popular," Young said with a laugh.
With Young still feeling the effects of a head cold, Blansfield, Bergenstock, and Cleo Hummel were dancing around him, hyping him up for his individual race. When it was his time to shine, Young raced to a personal record of 44.63 seconds. He received the loudest ovation of the evening when introduced and was cheered on throughout the race on all sides of the pool. Outside the pool, officials even had to give him a high five for his performance, having erased 14.29 seconds off his time in just five meets. His nerves turned to smiles for the rest of the meet.
"He's dropped so much time, which is incredible," Bergenstock said. "It's a credit to his strength. He's getting better with his turns and endurance. The drops in his seconds are crazy; you can see it in his numerical growth."
That growth has also led him to try new events. On Thursday, Young swam the first leg of the 200 free relay, racing alongside the Brown brothers and swimming the stretch in 47.22 seconds.
"I was excited and nervous before the relay," Young said. "I'm excited to do more relays. It felt good having buddies there."
And there is still room for improvement. During meets, Young stands to the left of the starting block and gets a light nudge from Bergenstock to acknowledge when he can begin a race — something that started after he accidentally dove in following the whistle instead of the horn. But Young is working to build his confidence to start on the block.
Sticklin, who says Young has a good backstroke, hopes Young will also gain the confidence and endurance to race in more events.
"He's a little nervous, but I've hinted at doing other events," she said. "We might build up to the 100 free since he does that many laps without stopping at practice. He definitely had someone teach him well, but he has the natural ability."
That skill came with help from Young's mother, Amanda, who signed him up for swimming lessons when he was just one year old. Children with disabilities are at greater risk for drowning, and after Amanda's cousin drowned nearly 40 years ago, she didn't want to take a chance on her son. Since then, she says he's "like a fish and loves to be in the water."
Sticklin has had some experience teaching kids with special needs as a second-grade teacher but has never coached an athlete until Young. She said it all paid off in the team's first meet at Bloomsburg University when he made the flip at the end of the pool, and the crowd cheered loudly. When she saw a video on Amanda's phone of his first-ever race, Sticklin was brought to tears, knowing the hard work paid off and the team had bonded more than ever because of the 15-year-old.
"I feel he has grown my heart even more if that's even possible. I adore him so much, and he brings out so much in both my team and the teams around us," Sticklin said. "He brings out so much caring around him when kids are competing with one another. He helps remind me that these are kids, and they are doing the sport for the love of it. We want to do our best, but there is so much to gain from being part of the team.
"I think Elliot thrives on just being on a swim team like any regular kid. He gets special attention because he's a special boy, but he likes being normal. He enjoys his peers so much."
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