Monday, December 12, 2011

Homework is Fun Sometimes!!!...(Sometimes being the operative word)


Here is a story I wrote about a couple of my swimmers for one of my classes. (I got a 97% on it!!)

GILBERT, Ariz., Learning to share with siblings is a very trying time in young children’s lives, so it stands to reason that it would be just as difficult learning how to share the spotlight with a sibling early in high school.  Gilbert brothers Luc and Cole Jordan would tell you that it is not as hard as you might think.

Luc Jordan, 15, is a sophomore at Campo Verde High School in Gilbert where he competes on the varsity swim team.  He joined the team last year as a freshman after a conversation with his mother.

“Once Luc entered high school I told him it was mandatory for him to do a sport and I suggested the swim team,” Brooke Jordan, Luc and Cole’s mother, said in an email.  “So the summer before starting as a freshman at Campo he did the swim camp and that was it.  He was hooked. Cole followed in his footsteps upon entering Campo as a freshman.”

Fourteen-year old Cole said that being on the same team as his older brother has some benefits, “Having Luc be on the swim team definitely motivates me.  He always pushes me to do better and just being in the same lane with him during practice helps me.  I try to keep up with him and even pass him so I give it my all.  I love having him on the team with me, it totally helps me out.”

Being on the same team does not always put the brothers in direct competition with each other as they can focus on different events.

“Even though competition is good for the kids, I want them to be excited and encourage each other to succeed and I feel that comes easier when they are not competing against each other in the same event,” Brooke said.

Luc focuses his energy on the sprint freestyle and breaststroke events, while Cole is one of the school’s top distance swimmers.

Even though they focus on different events they do sometimes end up swimming head to head on occasion, and the sibling rivalry comes into play for the brothers.

“Whenever we are in the same event I want to be in the same heat, in the lane right beside him just to make sure he does not creep ahead of me,” Luc said.

How would Luc react if Cole did creep ahead?

“Well it depends on which race, if it is something like the 500 (yard freestyle)…then it does not affect me too much.  On the other hand in something such as the breaststroke or the 50 (yard) freestyle, I may become addicted to finding a way to get back on top,” Luc said.

This past season Luc did not have to worry about “getting back on top” as he was busy setting the school record in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 25.43 seconds and qualifying for state championship swim meet in the 100-yard breaststroke, while Cole came within two seconds of qualifying for the state meet as a freshman with an impressive time of 5:52.97 in the 500-yard freestyle.

While they might not be swimming against each other you can be sure that whoever is in the water is being cheered on from the deck by the other.

“I definitely cheer for my brother a lot, and I try to watch him swim every time.  I look up to him and I always yell a little louder when I’m cheering for him,” Cole said.

Even though the brothers have both been in the spotlight early on in their high school swimming careers jealousy has not become a factor in their relationship.

“Most of the time we help each other out with a lot of stuff and if I need help with anything he is the first person I talk to.  He is a great brother,” Cole said.