The life aquatic

Local swim team active in, out of the pool

Bright yellow swim caps dart back and forth down the lanes like a school of Rubber Duckies at The Summit indoor swimming pool. After a few minutes, coach Brandon Rannebarger yells ?Stop!? and the young members of Kalispell Aquatic Team Swim regroup to catch their breath.

Some of them, boys and girls, are middle schoolers from across the valley. Some are in high school. Some participate in band or taekwondo, or are cross training for basketball or softball. Others are here to make new friends, or just have plain old fun.

When asked why he thinks so many kids with different interests show up Monday through Friday, Rannebarger turns to his gathered bunch and asks them.

?I have a six-pack now,? one smiling teenage boy says. Then everyone laughs as he flexes.

This assortment of swimmers, ranging from ages 5-18, is more than a random array of youth.

?It?s like a family,? says assistant coach Alice Judd. ?Sometimes we joke that (swim) meets are the sidebar. The traveling and staying in motels and all the other stuff is the best part.?

When the KATS aren?t together in The Summit pool, they?re out in the community, either raking leaves at rest homes or passing out cups of water at a triathlon. For a group of swimmers, they sure like being out of the water.

?It?s a lot more than just swimming,? says Rannebarger. ?We try to do community service every quarter.?

He turns back to the group, who are all catching their breath, and asks what everyone would like to do more of this year. Suddenly, everyone isn?t so out of breath.

?More community service!? they yell.

?More out-of-state meets!?

?More movies!?

Last summer, Judd and Rannebarger loaded everyone up in a van and visited Glacier National Park. Another time they took a chlorine break and held practice in Flathead Lake. Then there?s the fun of traveling to meets across the state and sometimes even out of state. Judd?s daughter Ashley even met a girl from Venezuela at a meet, who she stays in contact with.

But the fun goes alongside the dedication of the group.

There are roughly 60 members on the year-round competitive swim team, and anyone ages five through 18 can join. The only physical requirement is being able to swim one lap freestyle and one lap backstroke without stopping. The program is unaffiliated with area schools, and Rannebarger realizes the kids and their parents have plenty going on all ready. Regardless, the swimming pool rarely remains stagnant.

One teenager on the team hurries in and out throughout the week to get an hour of swimming in before going to work. Others find any time they can to jump in the pool and practice, like one eighth grade girl who wakes up at 5 a.m. on most weekdays and meets Rannebarger for an hour of swimming laps before school starts.

?It?s a really exciting program,? says Rannebarger, who is in his first full year as coach. ?It takes a lot of dedication.?

Both swimmers and coaches share in the dedication. Judd, for example, first got involved in KATS six years ago when her daughter became interested in joining. The group needed any help it could get, so Judd jumped right in and volunteered, whether it was organizing meets to e-mailing updates to parents.

The experience has kept Judd coming back year after year as a volunteer.

?As a parent, I kept finding myself saying ?The kids in swimming are good kids,?? she said.

One of the team?s goals in the pool this year is to qualify more people for the state meet. To achieve that, Rannebarger and Judd are setting goals for the team.

The KATS will have a fundraiser, Splash for Cash, which will raise money for travel costs and other team needs. Each swimmer will try to get as many sponsors as they can before Nov. 2, when they will either swim 200 laps, or as many as they can in two hours.

Rannebarger admits there is plenty of work to be done between now and then, but his team is up for the challenge, he says. Proof of this comes in remembering one specific practice that the returning swimmers won?t forget. Last Christmas, Rannebarger held a short, but grueling practice. Afterwards, the kids could barely step out of the pool they were so tired.

He says that day was a highlight for him ? because of how hard his team trained, of course.

?I love these guys. I never abuse them,? he says with a Cheshire grin.

And all at once, the pool erupts with a loud, echoing ?OH YEAH, RIGHT!?

Reporter Dillon Tabish can be reached at 758-4463 or by e-mail at dtabish@dailyinterlake.com