By Nick Brockman, Messenger Sports Reporter nbrockman@the-messenger.com
Wake Forest University may not have a Division-I sanctioned swimming team, but that has not prevented 2006 Madisonville-North Hopkins graduate Shawn Sarles from continuing his endeavors in the pool for the Demon Deacons.
Sarles, a former Maroon swimmer, will return to school this fall as president of Wake Forest's swim club.
As president, Sarles, 21, coordinates practices, meets and recruits potential new members, but his greatest enjoyment comes from staying active.
"I'm just happy that I can still get in -- after maybe two weeks of swimming in a row -- and get around my high school times," he said. "I'm usually a second or two off my butterfly and backstroke times. That makes me feel kind of good to know I can still do that even though I don't practice as hard as I used to."
The team boasts 10-15 members and typically takes part in two fall semester meets and two spring meets. Members practice three times a week, usually on their own accord using an outlined booklet left at the pool.
The Wake squad receives funding from the school and competes against other Atlantic Coast Conference teams such as the University of North Carolina, Duke University, the University of Virginia and Georgia Institute of Technology.
"I think maybe two-thirds of them have teams, but they have club teams as well," Sarles said. "Georgia Tech, I know their club team is their "B" college team, so they always kill everybody because their kids actually swim practices with the college team. You just can't compete with that."
Sarles, a former Maroon swimmer, will return to school this fall as president of Wake Forest's swim club.
As president, Sarles, 21, coordinates practices, meets and recruits potential new members, but his greatest enjoyment comes from staying active.
"I'm just happy that I can still get in -- after maybe two weeks of swimming in a row -- and get around my high school times," he said. "I'm usually a second or two off my butterfly and backstroke times. That makes me feel kind of good to know I can still do that even though I don't practice as hard as I used to."
The team boasts 10-15 members and typically takes part in two fall semester meets and two spring meets. Members practice three times a week, usually on their own accord using an outlined booklet left at the pool.
The Wake squad receives funding from the school and competes against other Atlantic Coast Conference teams such as the University of North Carolina, Duke University, the University of Virginia and Georgia Institute of Technology.
"I think maybe two-thirds of them have teams, but they have club teams as well," Sarles said. "Georgia Tech, I know their club team is their "B" college team, so they always kill everybody because their kids actually swim practices with the college team. You just can't compete with that."
Sarles said matching up against teams like Georgia Tech gets him amped.
"I really like competition, I really like going to the meets," Sarles said. "It's good because it motivates me to stay in shape, to get in the pool because I have a meet coming up."
Although the atmosphere and training may be more lax at times than his high school days, Sarles said he enjoys his time in the pool and staying fit.
"I really like it because I want to be active, especially as I get older and I get busier with work and away from the gym," he said. "It's good to have and it's something I can do for a long time because it's not going to wear my joints down that much."
"I really like competition, I really like going to the meets," Sarles said. "It's good because it motivates me to stay in shape, to get in the pool because I have a meet coming up."
Although the atmosphere and training may be more lax at times than his high school days, Sarles said he enjoys his time in the pool and staying fit.
"I really like it because I want to be active, especially as I get older and I get busier with work and away from the gym," he said. "It's good to have and it's something I can do for a long time because it's not going to wear my joints down that much."
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