Ethan Myers will never be on a high school relay team. Not unless he goes one on four.
On the a side, he will never tangle arms with a teammate in a lane during practice.
When you are a one-man team, the definition of normal may not be found in Webster’s Dictionary but in daily life.
Myers, 18, is a senior on the Trinity Lutheran swim team. He is a solo act this season, the only boy competing. This year, the fifth of the program, there are no girls out.
“We’ve never really had enough for a relay,” Myers said. “The most we’ve in is four people out.”
Four? Only the four consisted of two boys and two girls. Darn.
On Monday night, Myers was the only Trinity swimmer in the Trinity-Seymour-Providence tri-meet at the Seymour pool. He competed in the 50-yard freestyle and 500-yard freestyle, flexing his stroke in sprint and long-distance events.
Seymour’s swimmers dyed their hair blond for the final dual meet of the season, a goofy bonding gesture. If Myers, who has dark hair naturally, went in for a Dennis Rodman look, the rest of his classmates would probably ask what he was protesting.
Choosing the bright side perspective of being a lone team member, Myers said, “I can just focus on myself.”
So could Michael Phelps, but his personal coaching led to a boxcar full of Olympic gold medals. Myers is just trying to get a little bit faster in every meet that allows Trinity Lutheran to compete. Most often this season, those have been hosted by Indian Creek.
In this season of the coronavirus when the only sanctioned deep breaths without a mask are in a pool, becoming a bonus guest on the schedule can be a little more challenging. Not that Myers comes with an entourage. It’s just him and coach Doug Sabotin.
At Seymour, while the Owls controlled one whole side of the pool and Providence’s territory was on the opposite, the duo sat in single chairs socially distanced.
“It’s a little bit weird,” Myers said. “Most schools, you see more than one show up.”
Uh, more like all schools.
Does this mean Myers is team captain?
“Yeah, I guess so,” he said. And assistant captain? He laughed.
Sabotin, whose daughter Rachel was a successful Trinity swimmer and now competes for the University of Akron, said he admires Myers’ pluck.
“He has stuck with it,” Sabotin said. “It takes a lot of courage and perseverance and a positive attitude.”
Myers is not the fastest guy off the blocks, but his personal best in the 50 is 28.60. He swam 6:12.78 for fourth in the 500, though he has gone faster. His best event, which he will contest at sectional later this month, is the 200 freestyle.
He might well be swimming faster this season if not for a devastating mishap in August playing soccer that knocked him out of the water until the start of November. He tore his right anterior cruciate ligament. That wrecked the soccer season for him and slowed his return to swimming.
For Myers, it may be “me, myself and I” with Trinity, but he also competes for the Olympians Swim Club in Columbus, so he gets some workouts and meets with others. Trinity practices may be morning and afternoon, time-consuming with lots of mileage. That doesn’t include weightlifting and other dry-land training.
Myers has tried to recruit other students for the team, but he has not had the same take-me response as top-ranked college football teams.
“I think some of them think it’s too hard,” he said. “I don’t want to say it’s not hard.”
Sabotin said if Trinity had a pool, it would attract swim competitors. Sabotin has to search for water for Myers’ workouts. Mostly, that is in Columbus, about 25 miles away. Unless you are Lynne Cox training to swim the English Channel, outdoor lakes don’t cut it.
“We could have an ice skating team,” Sabotin said. “What we really need is for someone to donate $5 million to $10 million.”
Myers isn’t complaining. From youth on, he liked being in the water, and even if he has to keep himself company most of the time, he is doing something he loves.
“I still get to be part of program representing Trinity,” Myers said.
Though every once in a while, he has to remind classmates Trinity has a swim team.