GLOBE SOUTH 1 / SPORTS
WEYMOUTH - The newspaper article hangs along the hallway of theWeymouth Club. The story rests in an 8-by-10-inch frame with a black-and-white photo featuring Weymouth Waves coach Mike Riley and twoyoung swimmers, Ian Sliwinski, and his sister, Samantha. At the time,Sliwinski was about 11 and his sister about 9.
They were the Waves' lone representatives at the New England 12-and-under championships held four years ago. Riley now looks at thephoto as a marker of the beginning.
Four years ago, Riley took charge of the swim club, with his focuson developing a competitive team. He expected swimmers to commit thetime and passion to make the Waves a strong program.
Today, the story seems tiny next to the poster-size frame of theclub photograph that features swimmers five rows deep. It is all areminder of how much the program has grown from a program with 32swimmers to today's total of 154.
'I wanted them to know there was something else out there,' Rileysaid. 'There's a lot of good coaches in this sport and in the areayou need to make yourself known a little bit.'
Riley put his effort into the team, using the same intensity thathelped him build the swim program at Notre Dame Academy of Hingham,where he has coached since 2001, leading Notre Dame to two Division 2state titles.
The summer has become an ideal time for high school swimmers toprepare for their upcoming seasons.
Sliwinksi, a Weymouth resident, was among the group of originalswimmers who were part of the Waves. Sliwinski, now 16, will be ajunior at Boston College High this year.
Last season at BC High, he won the Division 1 100-yard backstrokein 54.47 seconds and was sixth in the 50-yard freestyle, at 22.52.
The Waves' program grew to include swimmers such as CaitlinCronin, 15, of Kingston, who impressed many in her freshman season atNotre Dame.
Cronin said she wanted to improve and took on the challenge oftraining six to eight hours a week, and joined the Waves four yearsago. Cronin proved the work can pay off. In her first year at NotreDame, she won the Division 2 state title in the 100-yard freestyle(53.91), placed third in the 50- and 100-yard freestyles in the Southsectional meet, and was selected a Globe All-Scholastic.
Many of the swimmers who have experienced success during theschool year also are excelling in the summer for the Waves. Croninand Sliwinski will join 18 other teammates who will compete in theNew England Long Course Championships, which will begin tomorrow atHarvard University.
The event marks the end of the long-course season and the Waveswill take a break before returning in September to participate inshort courses.
The team's success serves as a motivation for Alyssa Stevens, whowill be a senior at North Quincy this fall. Stevens joined the Wavesin May and said she appreciated the team atmosphere as she worked herway back into the pool after she missed the high school season with abroken foot.
'I kind of missed the team bonding,' Stevens said. 'We were werelike a big family because you're swimming with the same people everyday.'
Stevens qualified for the New England Open in the 50- and 100-meter freestyles and joined Cronin and Sliwinski as the three toqualify for Super Sectionals in Maryland. In addition, the teamearned a ninth-place finish at the Eastern Invitational Meet inGreensboro, N.C.
Through the national and regional competitions, Sliwinski said hehas learned over time how to deal with the pressure.
'You worry about your own times and don't compare yourself toother swimmers,' he said.
Riley said he is proud of what the swimmers in the Waves haveaccomplished in a short period of time. When the program took offfour years ago, the Waves broke nearly 50 team records. Each year, anaverage of 40 records continue to fall, and Riley considers it a signof the program's continued improvement.
Swimmers who could complete five 100-meters consistently in aminute and 30 seconds now can do the same challenge 25 secondsfaster.
Riley said he can appreciate the success of the program.
'We've come a long way.
Monique Walker can be reached at mwalker@globe.com.
