When Starkville Swim Team coach Melissa Hubley realized she wasn’t going to be able to make it to the Mississippi Swimming, Inc. 8U Developmental Meet in Vicksburg on Saturday, she turned to Swim Columbus head coach Stephani Gonzalez to lead and coach her three swimmers in competition.
Gonzalez, a former Delta State University swimmer and Swim Columbus coach since 2018, was headed to the meet anyway with four swimmers of her own from Swim Columbus, and brought the Starkville swimmers in and coached them as if they were her own.
“When they contacted me on Wednesday and asked if I could help coach them, I said, ‘Yes,’” Gonzalez said. “I know the coach and I know some of their swimmers, so I knew it would be pretty easy-peasy to merge them with some of my swimmers. The meet ran smoothly, so again, it was really easy to keep up with them. Her kids did phenomenal.”
Despite having limited time working with her new kids, she helped guide the crew of aquatic athletes from neighboring counties to at least one podium finish for each swimmer.
Columbus’ Aria Welch captured first in the 25-meter backstroke, Tinsley Miller won silver for second place in the 25-meter backstroke, Ben Sherrill earned a third-place finish in the 50-meter backstroke and Amelia Richardson took home bronze for third place in the 50-meter freestyle. Starkville’s Fisher McCain placed first in 50-meter backstroke, Emma Ai took first in the 100-meter individual medley and Cole Tucker left with the gold medal for winning the 25-meter butterfly.
“They were very excited to receive their medals throughout the swim meet. It was precious,” Gonzalez said. … “They were definitely having to compete to get top three, so I was very proud that every one of them got at least one podium moment. (Starkville) had one kid and I had one kid who this was their first swim meet ever, so for them to get to the podium and see that they had trained these last couple of months to achieve something – the smiles on their faces was just precious. They didn’t think they were going to podium in their first ever swim meet, so it was good to see them get an award and be proud of it and then go into the next season ready to go and do it again. So, the podium really helps these kids.”
The meet itself was focused on the longer races, like the 100-meter individual medley, 50-meter backstroke and 25-meter butterfly. Some events had around 10 swimmers from around the state vying for the podium. So, when it came to coaching the Starkville swimmers, Gonzalez said she first started off with the basics.
“I just gave the common reminders for 8-and-unders. Even if you don’t know a swimmer, when they’re 6,7,8 years old you kind of see common things you need to tell all of them no matter what team they’re from. So I’m like, ‘All right guys, do we know how to do the flip turn?’ And if they answer yes or no, I’ll give them tips on what to do.
But after seeing them compete in a race, she then turned her broad instructions into more personal teaching to those who needed it.
“Then I just let them take it from there,” she said. “The Starkville coaches are phenomenal. I could tell with their swimmers they did such a great job. So luckily, they had great coaching behind them.”
The two teams don’t let the miles that separate their home cities become a wedge between them and often see each other at different meets. That closeness in the pool community has produced some great meets and some new friends, Gonzalez said.
“They’re both smaller teams compared to, like, the Jackson area, so they’ve always gotten along,” Gonzalez said. “They’ve sat together at swim meets and we’ve done like dual meets against each other because we are only 25 minutes apart. So, we are very familiar with each other’s teams. And the kids, especially at that age, make friends so easily. One kid from Starkville was so precious. He was telling his mom, ‘Hey I made a new friend from Columbus. And she’s like, ‘What’s his name?’ ‘Oh I don’t know, but I can point him out later.’
To celebrate their achievements, and build just a little bit more camaraderie between the two swim clubs, the team went and ate pizza together after the meet.
“We’ve always made sure to stay close,” Gonzalez said
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