The up-and-comers at the Wyndham City Sharks were in the spotlight at the Australian Age Swimming Championships in Adelaide.
The Sharks had an inexperienced five-person group attend last month’s nationals, including three first timers on the national stage.
Sharks president Vince Taylor told Star Weekly it was an invaluable learning experience for his team.
“It’s a prestigious event for those kids aged from 13 to 18,” he said.
“It was great for them to learn about pressure and compete at the highest level in Australia at age level.
“Some of the kids there went on to swim at the open Olympic trials.”
Wyndham City travelled as a team and emulated how a professional swimming team would operate.
If a swimmer had no competition on a particular day, it was straight to the pool for a preparatory training session.
“All the kids and the coaches travel in and out training every day, even if they’re not competing, so they can get ready for their events,” Taylor said.
“Like any top-level competition, you have the highs and lows, but overall it was a great experience for all the kids.”
The star of the competition for Wyndham City was Marco Soesanto.
He claimed a bronze medal in the gruelling 400 metres individual medley.
“That 400 metres individual medley is a pretty strenuous and hard event,” Taylor said. “For him to do that well was really pleasing.
“He’s been swimming with us for quite a while and has developed into a great athlete.
“Some kids are just naturally good at all the strokes and he is one of them.”
Emmason McCurley, Sophia Potter, Caitlin Huell and Montana Rauner-Smith were the other members of the Wyndham City team.
A common theme among all five is their dedication to the sport and their approach to training.
“They all work hard,” Taylor said. “They would be swimming seven or eight times a week.
“It’s a long-term thing for them … each year they generally get better, it becomes less stressful and they get used to what is required of them training-wise and preparing for the events.”
