Posted on Sat, Aug. 23, 2008
By Mari A. Schaefer
Elise Levito didn't have to wait too long to hear about her tryout with the Upper Main Line YMCA swim team. She received the good news from coaches right after she got out of the pool.
"After watching the Olympics, it really motivated me to come here and get better times," said Levito, 15, of Norristown, who swims the butterfly stroke. "I kind of remembered how Michael Phelps did it, and tried to swim like him. He is just so good."
Phelps' eight-gold-medal performance at the Beijing Olympics is having more than a ripple effect at Southeastern Pennsylvania, South Jersey and national swim clubs, as thousands of children sign up for lessons and teams.
"It is ringing off the hook," Kathy Matthews, the team administrator at Suburban Swim Center in Newtown Square, said about phone inquiries for swim lessons. "We have had unprecedented interest in auditions for swim teams."
At the Upper Main Line YMCA in Berwyn and the Lionville Community YMCA, there has been a 21 percent jump in the number of children enrolled in swim lessons from last year.
"The impact of the Olympics has caused the increase," said Barry Smith, director of communications for the two programs.
"We are maxed out in four of eight practice groups, and we expect to fill everything," said John Carroll, head coach at the Jersey Wahoos Swim Club in Mount Laurel. With space for 450 swimmers, the Wahoos had more than 400 signed up two weeks ago.
That impact did not surprise Pat Hogan, managing director for club development at USA Swimming in Colorado Springs, Colo. The organization oversees about 257,000 athletes in 2,700 clubs.
"We typically enjoy a membership spike the year after every Olympics," Hogan said, noting the increase is usually around 7 percent. "We hope that will be larger than normal because of the Phelps phenomenon."
He expects about 15,000 or more young athletes to starts swimming with USA groups in September, when clubs start their season. And while his organization does not track other groups, such as recreational programs or YMCAs, Hogan says the number of new swimmers could reach more than 100,000.
The phenomenon is not new.
After Mary Lou Retton vaulted to fame with five medals in the 1984 Olympics - including a gold for the all-around competition - budding gymnasts flocked to the floor mats.
Also that year, many young athletes wanted to be like Mike - Jordan, not Phelps. Jordan, better known for his NBA career, played for gold-medal Olympic teams in '84 and '92.
While Retton captured the imaginations of mostly young girls and Jordan influenced young boys, Phelps has both groups taking notice, Hogan said.
"What he has done is so phenomenal, and the way he has done it makes his appeal universal," Hogan said, noting how Phelps acknowledges the help of his teammates, coaches and family in his success.
Sara Talley, 13, of Malvern, who was at the Upper Main Line Y trying out for the swim team Thursday, conceded she had lost a lot of sleep staying up late to watch the Olympics.
"It was really worth it to see him break that world record," she said. That
him, of course, was the "really amazing" Phelps.
The Phelps phenomenon is only part of the reason swimmers are flooding programs.
"The talk started at the Olympic trials," said Erik Nelson, coach at the Ridley Area YMCA. He said the interest began in July during the well-televised Olympic trials, and peaked about the time Phelps took the plunge at the National Aquatic Center, or "Water Cube," in Beijing.
However, it is not just Phelps who has made waves with young people.
In Atlantic City, it is also New Jersey resident Cullen Jones who is having an impact. Jones, the third African American to make an Olympic swim team and the second to win a gold medal, was part of the winning 400 freestyle relay team along with Phelps, Jason Lezak and Garrett Weber-Gale.
"We have a black population, and there are some kids who gravitate to [swimming] because of race and identifying with Cullen," said Dave Wakeley, head coach of the Atlantic City Aquatic Club. Wakeley said the club is very diverse.
At the Upper Main Line Y, Levito, who was wearing an "Achievement starts with Believing" T-shirt, said she had her sights set on swimming year-round and breaking a school record at Villa Maria Academy in Chester County.
"I would like to go to the Olympics," she said.
Contact staff writer Mari A. Schaefer at 610-892-9149 or mschaefer@phillynews.com.
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