Many girls on the Bartram Trail swim team are members of USA Swim programs like Bolles, Loggerhead, and STORM that prepared them for the swim of a lifetime. The state swim meet was a roller coaster day and unique because swimmers competed in two meets in one day. The prelim meet narrowed the field down to the top 16 for the evening championship swims. The points were made in the evening, so teams had to get as many swimmers into the evening swims as possible.
Once the state “psych” sheet was released, coach Robert Bruns, like all the other coaches, began breaking down each swim and run into a tally of points as if the psych sheet were the final results. This is when he first had the feeling that the girls could possibly win the whole meet. However, having done this for so long, he also knew anything could happen. The goal was to get his athletes prepared to swim so they could make the evening events.
As the prelims started off, Bartram Trail did a good job of making it back for the evening. By the end of prelims, it was a tough battle. The relays were placed in the middle, a couple of swimmers were not coming back, and Bartram Trail had a sick swimmer. The girls knew this and were worried too. They recalculated the scores, cried a lot, and prayed. At this point it was between Bartram, Gainesville, and Chiles. It was anyone’s game.
If a team takes all the relays, they are awarded 60 points, so to win the state swim meet, a team must win the relays. However, there wasn’t a clear winner for the relays. Bartram and Gainesville battled it out for the 200-meter medley relay and the 400 freestyle relay. The real battle was in the body of the swim meet: the individual events. By the time it came to hit the 100 butterfly, Bartram’s lead had slowly eroded, and there was a growing sense of urgency. Coming out of the 200 freestyle relay, they dropped from first to third.
The backstroke and breast stroke were the last two events. After the backstroke, Summer Stanfield’s performance moved Bartram into second. All they needed to win was the 100 breast stroke to move into first place, but Chiles had a strong breast stroke swimmer. Lilly McCabe swam for her life and in the last 25 yards pulled up alongside her competitor. The result of that “heart attack” race was a tie, so the sum of the first and second place points was split evenly between the two teams. As they went into an awards break, the Gainesville coach informed Bruns that they had to either beat them or take second to win the meet, but didn’t know by how much. Bruns approached each girl and told them what they needed to do, and each girl knew her responsibility. There were tears and anxiety – it was the race of a lifetime. Stroke for stroke those girls battled it out, and in the end Gainesville edged Bartram Trail, but Bartram Trail still won by 0.5 points, the equivalent of making a half-court shot in basketball at the last second of the game to win it.
“There is a sense of honor in being the team that brought home a trophy after a 75-year drought,” Brunds said. “We never knew it, but there is a sense of pride. I just hope that it won’t be another 75 years before another ladies’ state championship is won. The margin of points to win will forever be the discussion in Bartram swimming history.”
When asked what makes a champion, Bruns said a combination of elements makes one. Patience is paramount; becoming a champion takes time, and nothing is instantaneous. Taking the craft (sport) seriously determines who wins and who loses, so be the first in the water and the last out. When doing a drill, do the drill correctly because it will isolate the bigger picture of an action. Push yourself; every set should be challenging and uncomfortable. Good is the enemy of great. Believe in your coach, and love the sport you are doing.
“I think what makes us consistent is our team philosophy that I learned from the Flagler College AD,” Bruns said.
- Give 100 percent, 100 percent of the time.
- Don’t be a selective swimmer (picking when to work hard and when not to).
- Don’t put yourself above the team.
- You must love swimming/diving.
The one thing Bruns always asks of his swimmers is to “Give me your best.” This is what he asks of them when they finish a swim (good or bad) too. He teaches them that if they put the work into their sport, then they will always perform well. However, it they don’t, then they should not expect to have a good swim.
“My swimmers have taught me that it is okay to be silly, to be light hearted and caring,” Bruns said. “We look forward to the 2017-2018 season. We know that Gainesville is coming after us, and we have a great friendship with GHS, and their coaching staff is great, but we must defend our championship.”
Half a Point to History
By: Courtney Wagner & Robert Bruns
