PRAIRIE GROVE -- It was not a typical scene at Prairie Grove Aquatic Park. Parents, grandparents and other adults were sitting in lawn chairs three-deep around the pool and kids, wearing swimsuits and colorful swim caps, waited their turn to race in the water.
The scene was a competitive swim meet with Northwest Arkansas Summer Swim League.
Prairie Grove supports its own swim team and its program has grown from 27 members last summer to 48 swimmers this year. Kids on the team range from 5 to 18 years old. Most of the members are from Prairie Grove and Farmington, with a few from Fayetteville.
"This is the most awesome thing we have ever done for Prairie Grove," said Becky Cavaness. Her daughter, Aleena, participates on the team and Cavaness volunteers as a "swim" mom.
While Aleena loves to swim, the team also provides a way for her to be active and involved, her mother said.
"It's so awesome for kids," Cavaness added.
The Prairie Grove Piranhas compete in the summer league with 10 teams. Groups are divided into small teams and large teams, based on number of participants, and Prairie Grove is in the small-team league. Other teams in the league come from Bella Vista, Springdale, Bentonville, Fayetteville and Rogers.
Head coach Liz Braun, 22, is a former member of the University of Arkansas swim team, works at Fayetteville Athletic Club and also coaches the Fayetteville Athletic Club Sharks, a member of the large-school league in the summer program.
Braun started the Piranhas last year and her intent is to help the team grow "bigger and better" each year, she said.
"I was excited to start it because Prairie Grove is more of a rural area and this gives kids another opportunity," Braun said. "This is a different sport from baseball, softball and football and kids compete as individuals but also as a team member."
She's already seen Prairie Grove team members from last summer take it to the next level and join the Aqua Hawgs, a year-round swim program sanctioned by USA Swimming.
The team started practicing three days a week June 1 and members have competed in five meets over the summer. Their last meet was July 21 and it included Prairie Grove Piranhas, Harber Meadow Ducks and Springdale Sea Lions.
Out of 48 team members, 35 from Prairie Grove have qualified over the summer to compete in the championship meet, held Aug. 1 in Bentonville.
Braun's goal was for Prairie Grove to win the small-team league title at the championship meet and the team came in second place, missing first by only four points. The Piranhas were fifth overall out of all teams.
"It was exciting," Braun said after the championship. "We've grown so much and come so far since last year. We were kinda bummed because we were so close but you can't be upset with that."
Out of 88 events, Prairie Grove had a top 8 finish in 45 of the events, Braun said.
Along with the competitive side of a swim team, Tracie Ashley, another "swim" mom, said her favorite part of the program is its positive atmosphere.
"There's nothing negative here," Ashley said as she waited to watch her son, Cole, 9, compete at the meet in Prairie Grove.
Team members are taught to give their best and improve their own swim time but they also are encouraged to cheer on each other, even if at times they have to compete against their own teammate. It's important that they learn how to handle this responsibility, Braun said.
"I talk to them about cheering for their teammates and being happy for them when they are doing well," she said. "We can only be the best team we can when we are supporting each other."
Two swimmers, Griffin Roton, 13, and Addisyn Snyder, 8, both describe being on the swim team as one of the hardest things they've done.
"It's been pretty challenging," Griffin said. "I think I've really improved."
He said he definitely wants to participate next year.
Addisyn has stuck with the team all summer but she does not want to do it again next year. She likes playing in the pool and being at the lake but swimming on a swim team is hard, she said.
"I get really tired," she admitted.
The Piranhas do not have tryouts. Most of the kids already could swim 25 yards. Braun and assistant coach Maddie Monroe, a senior on UA swim team, worked with those who couldn't. Coaches focused on stroke techniques, dives and flip turns during practices and older swimmers practiced more on yardage-based swimming.
Monroe said she has enjoyed working with the Piranhas this summer.
"I love to coach. I love kids," Monroe said. "It's been a great experience. The parents and kids are just great."
Both Braun and Monroe started swimming at an early age. Braun is from Atlanta, Ga., and started swimming when she was 5 years old.
"I always try to promote the sport of swimming," Braun said. "It changed my life."
Monroe, of Godfrey, Ill., started swimming in a summer league program when she was 8 years old and began swimming year-round at age 10. When she graduates college, she will compete at the 2016 U.S. Olympic trials for swimming in Omaha, Neb., in a quest to become a member of the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team.
Monroe said she likes swimming because of the community of friends and camaraderie.
"But I also love to swim. I love training and putting in hard work and seeing it pay off."
Braun is working on her master's degree in education and hopes to have a teaching position in northwest Arkansas in kindergarten or first grade when she finishes.
General News on 08/19/2015