Courtesy: Maggie Kayt Franks
I did not enter the swimming world until late in my life, compared to most of my teammates. I was 15 years old when I stepped foot in Henderson Center Pool for the first time. In that pool, I learned everything I could. I cultivated my love for the sport in that building and made the greatest memories with my club teammates. However, the people I encountered within the Marshall University Swim & Dive (MUSD) program are the ones who truly inspired, helped, and created the coach I am today. So, now I am fearful for the next generation of athletes in Huntington, West Virginia, without MUSD at the center. We all, in some way, have been aided by the program.
I would not be where I am in my life if it were not for MUSD, from joining the club swim in high school, to continuing to swim in college until my body would not allow me to go further, then medically retiring and beginning my coaching career. Within each of those steps, I had someone with MUSD help me with my journey.
During the summer of 2020, the only thing I had was the two-hour practice held in an outdoor pool. I always felt like Coach Counter (then Assistant Coach with MUSD) knew that this was all I had and gave me a chance to be extra involved. The thing I remember the most was that I was the interval tracker for my lane and surrounding lanes, constantly doing the time math and management that kept everyone on track. Our clock was so small that it was difficult to see across the pool, so I had to sync my watch with it to keep everyone on track. Maybe it was the bossiness in my general personality, but I enjoyed doing all of it. During that summer, Coach Counter made me realize I wanted to be a coach like her.
While I continued to swim in college, my body deteriorated rapidly. I had shoulder surgery after my first two seasons, and going into my junior year, I had no love or joy with the sport. I reached out to a former coach and Marshall swimmer, whom I had always looked up to when I was in high school. We FaceTimed and discussed life, different ways to incorporate swim without feeling suffocated, and she gave me the “permission” to be done with the sport. Without that call, I would not have been able to view my final season in an appropriate way and end up enjoying it.
Currently, I work away from my hometown team, but we always love it. Coach Emily (former Marshall swimmer) has built it up in recent years and helped all of us with the next step of our lives.
The swimming community within Huntington, WV, is a tight-knit group because of the shared experiences we all had in that pool. None of us “in my era” swam for MUSD, but they formed the swimmers that we all became, and we shared those lessons/memories with teams around the country. I hope that younger athletes will get all the experiences and aid that we all did. It seems uncertain right now when a beloved community program gets cut.
ABOUT MAGGIE KAYT FRANKS
Maggie Kayt Franks is currently an assistant swim coach at Albion College and was formerly a swimmer at Shawnee State University. She was born and raised in Huntington, W.Va., where she swam and coached with Thundering Herd Aquatics.
There were several young ladies (MU swimmers and coaches) who helped at that time…Olivia, Cara, Taylor, to name a few…you gals are loved, appreciated and missed. I only pray that MU wakes up and sees the mistake they’re making. I contend that collegiate swimmers, both male and female, are some of the best students *and* people I’ve ever met.
I traveled to Marshal for a number of swim meets early before I moved to swim at LESD. It was one of the first times that I had heard “you need to warm down” as many of the pools that I swam in didn’t have room for a warm up/down pool. The pool deck would flood, so you better not put you towel down on the deck.
I swam some fast times, got to watch some fast swimmers….anyone remember Jon Tutor?
It is sad when another team is lost. Just another opportunity taken away from someone who really enjoys the sport.