Although Hilary Caldwell has swum at the very highest levels and won a backstroke bronze at the 2010 Olympic Games in Rio De Janeiro, she still clearly remembers what it feels like to be an impressionable young swimmer.
“I was these kids,” she said, while young swimmers vigorously practised their turns at the Quesnel Arts and Recreation Centre this past Friday (Jan 11).
“I came out of a six-lane, 25-metre pool. I was the kid who had people coming in who I would get autographs of and take pictures with, so it’s a little surreal to be on the other side.”
The Quesnel Waveriders and the Williams Lake Blue Fins banded together to organize a couple sessions with Caldwell that sandwiched the Regional Prospects Camp she was helping out with in Prince George over the weekend.
Some Blue Fins members came up to take in the Friday lessons, and a few Waveriders made the trip south to Williams Lake on the following Monday to soak up as much knowledge from the former Olympian as possible.
Waveriders head coach Jerrit Brink said it was huge to be able to get someone of her calibre to come help train the kids.
“Everybody’s lit up,” he said, “Including myself! She’s throwing down some tips and tricks and I’m looking to see how many of my kids look at her and then look at me and say, ‘that’s what you were saying,’ or, ‘oh, that’s something different and cool.'”
Caldwell commanded the attention of the 30 kids in the pool instantly.
She was direct and engaging with the kids, gesticulating animatedly with her arms and standing atop the starting blocks, loudly offering tips over the voices of the recreational swimmers nearby.
All eyes were glued to the bronze-medallist.
Waverider Abby Webb took a lot from the experience.
“It feels pretty cool to have this opportunity,” she says. “And to be able to learn from someone that’s been in the same position as us as a swimmer.
“I liked the way she phrases things. It’s different from the way our coach has been teaching us, and it’s interesting to have a different perspective.”
Caldwell said she retired from swimming last spring and has been giving back to the sport all over the province.
“You get a lot more buy-in from the smaller towns,” she pointed out. “They get way more excited about having you, and I think that’s really great.”
In addition to the technical knowledge she gets across, Caldwell likes to instill a little bit of hope in all the swimmers she meets.
“I talk to them more about my journey as a swimmer,” she said. “And my main thing is, I was not the 16-year-old superstar. I was an OK age-group swimmer, but it took me a little longer [to find success]. I didn’t make my first national team until I was 21.”
She said kids have got to really want the prize, however.
“It’s got to come from you and it takes a lot of hard work, but if [success] is not now, it doens’t mean it’s never going to come,” she says. “Sometimes it’s just about plugging away and being stubborn. It’s a longer-term payout, but it’s there.”
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