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Swimming offers life-long health benefits.
Swimming is the only sport humans can do their entire lives.
Before learning to walk, babies can swim; and long after the elderly have had to give up other forms of exercise, they can still get in a pool.
The health benefits of swimming are wellknown: it improves muscle strength, flexibility, balance, stamina and cardiovascular health, and can provide a high-intensity work-out without a lot of impact on the body.
The influence of water is also relaxing and stress-relieving, especially in hot climates where a refreshing dip is just what the doctor ordered.
Hilton Head Aquatics, a nonprofit U.S.A. swimming club, provides local youths with an alternative to seasonal school sports and allowsthem to practice and compete all year long. The club began as a summer recreational program in 1984, but has since evolved into a year-round team comprised of anywhere from 60 to 80 children, ages 4 to 18.
Co-ed members are divided into six different divisions according to skill level, from pre-team beginners to kids ranked Top 5 in the country.
“There are very few sports that ask you to practice two to three hours a day, six days a week, year-round,” said head swim coach Jack Maddan. “Swimming teaches them discipline, time management and mental fortitude because in real life, not everything’s going to be an instant success. Some of these kids are even fighting a little of that obesity, and this is probably one of the best things they can do.”
The team trains at Island Recreation Center and attends local meets throughout the year in Savannah and Hilton Head.
Twice a year they compete at the state level, while members 15 and older can participate at the sectional level, or even nationals, as was the case with four girls who recently traveled to Florida to compete on the junior National level.
Ages 10 and younger are coached by Maddan’s wife, Mary Bridget Maddan. Coach Alex Snyder is in charge of ages 9 through 12.
Membership costs range from $60 to $150 per month, according to division, and the all-inclusive nature of the club welcomes participants at every skill level. As Jack Maddan points out, water-safety is always a good thing to cultivate among children living on an island. Though Olympic stand-outs like Michael Phelps and Natalie Coughlin have done a lot to promote the sport’s popularity, Maddan would like to see even more children get involved in swimming.
Boys especially, he says, are more attracted to athletics that involve throwing or kicking a ball; but aquatic endeavors have the potential to be carried far into old age.
“I think swimming is the true version of the fountain of youth because you can exercise even after you can’t do all these gravity-based activities,” said Maddan. “We have a lady on the island who is 78 years old and she comes in every morning to swim. Ultimately, we hope that these kids will make the same life-long commitment.”
