A Time to Swim

Jay Brown is a nine year-old African-American boy growing up in Atlanta. He has been swimming for the City of Atlanta Dolphins, my club team, since age eight. When Jay swims, I notice that there is unbounded potential in his technical and physical development. At this point in Jay's life, if he were to devote the proper time and energy to swimming, he would undoubtedly evolve into a world-class swimmer. But at the same time, Jay is a phenomenal basketball and football player. Furthermore, Jay's father James was a professional football player in the 80s. In a few years, Jay is going to have to make an incredibly difficult decision as to which sport he'll play.

After looking at Jay, I remember a question that every reporter asks when interviewing me. "Why are there so few African-Americans in the sport of swimming?" As a teenager I would respond by saying, "Swimming is a sport that requires facilities such as pools, starting blocks, etc., and this equipment isn't always available in minority communities. But as I matured, I realized that swimming's minority numbers were small not only because of economic constraints, but also because swimming's total numbers were small relative to the big three sports -- football, basketball, baseball.

The reason swimming isn't as popular among all kids is that American companies and media don't push swimming. In the 90s we heard, "Sometimes I dream that he is me - Like Mike, if I could be like Mike." As millions of kids in the U.S. chanted this Gatorade mantra, it became clear to me that Michael Jordan was single-handedly recruiting these children into the sport of basketball. With the help of Gatorade and their advertising dollars, it was easy to push basketball, and the same holds true for baseball and football.

For swimmers like Jay, following their own hearts and dreams as swimmers has become a formidable challenge considering the huge propaganda that supports the larger sports. I can't count the number of times I've been asked, "What basketball team do you play for?" And I am sure that very shortly Jay's peers will start with questions like "Why do you swim?" or "Why don't you play football or basketball?

For Jay to commit himself to swimming in the U.S. means that he and others like him must be unique people and their parents must be equally unique. Parents must understand that as swimmers, we don't chase dreams that are laden with money and fame. We swim because we love it.

There are American swimmers that have broken records by the dozens and virtually none have appeared on the covers of Sports Illustrated or ESPN the Magazine. Yet the rewards we receive as swimmers are ones that we discover later in life. The discipline that we gain from attending all of the 5 a.m. practices is valuable, and our ability to set goals and pursue them with sincere determination is also a priceless asset.

If you were to study America's top business people -- lawyers, politicians, actors, writers, and educators -- you'll find a large number of competitive swimmers. There are benefits in swimming that are definitely less visible than others sports; nonetheless, our goal must be to always strive for excellence. Although we may never see a swimmer sign a $100 million contract, we can all rest assured that swimmers positively influence society -- a much loftier goal.

So when Jay's father calls me again and asks me questions like "how tall were you at nine?" "What was your time in the 25 free?" and "Could you do a flip-turn yet?" my answer to him is going to be "Jay's doing fine, now make sure you keep supporting his swimming and he'll be great."

And when the time comes for you other swimmers to make a decision as to which sport you'll participate in, my only advice is for you to follow your heart and remember that the road less traveled is often worth the trip.