100+ Schroeder YMCA Athletes Compete in National Meets

Schroeder YMCA Member-Athletes Ready for National Competitions

Over 100 Schroeder YMCA Swimmers and Divers will be competing at National competitions in the next weeks.  

22 teens will travel to Greensboro, NC for the National YMCA Swimming Championships on April 1.  The four day meeting begins on April 3 and has 1500 YMCA youth-members representing hundreds of YMCAs across the country.  At the 2012 meet Schroeder finished 7th in combined team scoring with the girls 6th nationally and the boys at 9th overall.

49 adults will travel to the International Swimming Hall of Fame Pools in sunny Ft Lauderdale at the end of April.  Schroeder's squad is a mix of all ages from twenty somethings to very experienced 70+ athletes who still enjoy the tests of competition.  In 2012, Schroeder finished 9th overall and Coach Jessica Connors has high hopes for this year's team to improve on last year's successful campaign.

12 Middle school-aged athletes will also be traveling to Florida in early April to the Nike Showcase Classic in Clearwater, FL.  Led by coaches Harmilee Cousin III and Dan Heraly, this group of enthusiastic young swimmers will race against some of the best athletes in the USA for four days.  Several of Schroeder's team are the fastest athletes in their respective age group ever in the state's history!

Accompanying the adults, but in a separate contest also at the International Hall of Fame Complex, are Schroeder's dominant divers.  26 of the area's top diving talents will compete for individual and team honors against a strong field from YMCAs across the United States.  Coach Todd Hill has led Schroeder to team titles and diving legend Gary Cox has grown the competition back to prominence and recognition.

Finally, Paralympic swimmer Jeff Valodine, will test his mettle against the best in North America at the 2013 Paralympic Swimming Spring Nationals at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center April 4-6.  Jeff is a sophomore at Messmer High School and regularly competes against able-bodied athletes at the Walter Schroeder Aquatic Center.  This will be his first Paralympic Nationals and the meet also serves as a CanAM Championship event (Canada/America).  Jeff has made remarkable swimming gains in his three years of training, but more remarkable is his fortitude which was seriously tested last summer when he was the victim of a serious car-related accident.  In June of 2012, Jeff was literally run over by a car and broke many bones.  His life was in the balance for a period but he pulled through and miraculously was back in the water training again in October of 2012.