Wednesday, June 19, 2013

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New team making a splash at the Quincy YMCA
Posted: 02.05.2013 at 9:12 AM
Updated: 02.05.2013 at 12:45 PM
Kristen Aguirre

Kristen Aguirre is a KHQA This Morning Live Anchor for KHQA.

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The Dolphin's Competitive Swim team has swimmers ranging in age from six to 11, each at a different skill level. 
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QUINCY, ILL. -- Michelle Frazier and her husband, Eldon, have spent years driving their three kids to competitive swim meets. Now they're taking on new roles as coaches.

"It's a dream come true for us to see so many kids in the water doing healthy things, this is a skill they can use for the rest of their lives and it's fantastic," Michelle said.

The two parents teamed up with the Quincy YMCA to revive its swim team - the first one since before the early 90s.

"Michelle Frazier and Eldon Frazier approached me in October and asked me if it would be possible if we brought back the swim team," The YMCA Aquatics Director, Bethany Nannen Miller said. "There's a lot more opportunities in this area for YMCA swimming than there is any other kind of swimming, so that's what we decided to do."

Now, after last month's tryouts, the group is officially the Dolphin's Competiive Swim Team with more than twenty swimmers, including the Frazier's three children. The swimmers range in age from six to 11, each at a different skill level.

"It's kind of interesting; sometimes they come in with confidence issues, sometimes it's an issue of fitness, but in a matter of few weeks, their confidence comes up, the fitness comes up and they just kind of blossom," swim coach, Eldon Frazier said.

"You don't have to be so good or so fast, they'll work with you no matter what your skill," swimmer, Drew Tushaus said. "You can just come and there's not so much pressure, you can just do the best you can and have fun with it."

But these kids are learning more than the back stroke.

"The socialization skills are amazing," Michelle said. "We've seen kids who are really shy come into our program and all of a sudden they just blossom into outgoing people with strangers. Now they can talk to adults, they can talk to other kids, it's a terrific socialization tool."

Both Michelle and Eldon are certified swimming instructors. Although the season already has started, they still are accepting swimmers.

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