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| Dad's Club Swim Team - 50
+ years of achievements and programs |
| The Spring
Branch Memorial Drive Dad's Club was formed in the spring of
1946. Mr. C. H. Kiefner was the first president. Teenage activities
were started
in the school gymnasium every other Saturday night, and planning
commenced for a Boy Scout House on the school grounds. Early
activities were primarily devoted to entertainment and recreation,
with almost no emphasis on competition.
By September of 1949, the Recreation building was
partly complete and work on the grounds, tennis
courts and ball diamond were in progress. |
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| 1950's |
Early in 1952, following the
recommendations of Mr. Louis Cutrer, plans were started for
a swimming pool and a kitchen for the Youth Center. The Lions
Club supplied the funds for the kitchen project. The new pool
was officially opened June 12, 1953. The first record of Dad's
Club hosting a swim meet was February 1, 1955. The meet was
a Junior - Midget Swim Meet with seventeen organizations present,
200 contestants and 50 AAU officials. The Dad's Club Head Coach
at that time was Mr. E. A. Snapp.
Mr. and Mrs. Pat Patterson were hired as swim coaches in 1957,
and the next four years proved to be
outstanding in the growth of the team. Joan Spillane, a Dad's
Club Swimmer, earned a Gold Medal as a
member of the United States 400 Free Relay team at the Rome
Olympic Games. |
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| 1960's |
| In the summer
of 1965, Richard Quick, an
outstanding swimmer from Southern Methodist
University came to coach the team. By 1967, The
Dad's Club was ranked sixth in the Nation and
the following year seven swimmers qualified for
the Olympic Trials, including Keena Rothammer
who later won a Gold Medal in1972. In 1970,
construction began on the present 50 meter outdoor
facilities. |
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| 1970's |
In
1972, Richard Quick departed and Skip Kenney, assistant to
Don Gambrill at Harvard University,
was appointed to the position of Head Coach. The 1974-75 season
saw twenty-three swimmers
attend Junior Nationals in Ithaca, New York, with five of
those reaching finals. The year culminated with
the selection of Buzz Stagg and Ralph Watson to the United
States National Team which traveled to the
Soviet Union in the fall.
By 1976, The Dad's Club had
won ten consecutive Texas Age Group Championships (TAGS),
and set
seven National Age Group Records. Laura Raymond, Erica Meyer
and Renee Magee qualified for the
Olympic Trials Selection Meet, with Renee becoming the first
woman from the State of Texas to represent
the United States in Olympic Competition.
The excellence continued as
the team broke two Junior National Records and Erica Meyer
and Sara Irwin
won places on the United States Team to the Soviet Union.
Two Dad's Club men, Bill O'Brien and Kyle
Ditzler, won trips to France and Bulgaria, respectively. Pat
Nitsch became the first Dad's Club athlete to be
placed on the cover of Swimming World Magazine. |
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| 1980's |
The team placed eighteenth overall at the
Indoor Senior Nationals in Austin, and thirteenth overall at
the Olympic Trials in Irvine, California. Unfortunately, 1980
was the year of the Olympic boycott. However, Ricky Bodor, Larry
Craft, Rick May, Michelle Merchant, Bill O'Brien, Dean Putterman,
Chris Rives, Kelly Rives, Andy Schmidt, and Pat Nitsch represented
the Dad's Club well at the Trials.
Ricky Bodor also represented the USA on the 800
free relay receiving a silver medal at the World University
Games in Edmonton Canada in 1983.
The season of 1982-83 was one of transition and
rebuilding.Scott Hemingway was the only swimmer to win three
Gold Medals at the Junior Meet and Heather Hardy took the Gold
in the 100 Meter backstroke. Two Dad's Club swimmers qualified
for Senior Nationals, with Asa Lawrence earning sixth in the
50 free and twelfth in the 100 free. Both times placed him in
the World Rankings of that year.
Continued Dad's Club successs continued in 1985,
with the club finishing tenth in the Men's Division at the Los
Angeles Indoor Senior Nationals. Chris Rives qualified for the
Pan Pacific Games and the World Student Championships in Japan
that year. He was a Gold Medalist in the 200 IM at Pan Pacific's,
finishing with the fourth fastest time in the world that year.
For both the Dad's Club and the Houston area in
general, 1986 proved to be a difficult period. Hit by the hard
economic times within the oil industry, many families left the
Houston metropolitan area. The spring of 1986 brought tragedy
to the club with the traffic death of Kirsten Torgerson, one
of the club's strongest swimmers. The Dad's Club team, determined
to overcome this adversity, sent a strong fourteen member team
to the Austin Junior Nationals.
The Olympic year - 1988 -, had great impact on
the Dad's Club yet again! The team had two United States Olympic
Trials qualifiers in Eric Ruby and Dave Hansen. Russ White,
a Dad's Club parent and a USA official, was the Men's official
starter at the 1988 Olympic games in Seoul. Doug Gjertsen, no
longer in Houston, won an Olympic Gold medal as a member of
a USA relay. |
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| 1990's |
The
1989-90 season saw the Dad's Club Swim Team improve at every
level of competition. Dads Club
swimmers placed 8th overall at the 1991 YMCA Nationals in
Orlando, with the Women's Team finishing
3rd. US Swimming thought we were doing a great job as well.
They awarded the Dad's Club Swim team a
$500 check as the winner in the 91' competition. The Dad's
Club was one of three teams in the United States
that provided the most services for its swimmers and parents,
as well as being run efficiently.
The
Dad's Club 1991-92 season was exemplary in true Dad's Club
tradition. US Swimming, again, honored
the Dad's Club by awarding them $500 for the "Again in
92" competition. These were the only 2 years this
competition was held and the Dad's Club was chosen as the
outstanding team in the US both times.
The
1993 YMCA Nationals was another bright spot for Dads Club
Swimmers as the Women's Team placed
1st, the Men 2nd and the Team 2nd overall. Coach Boerner was
voted the YMCA Coach of the Year.
1995-96
was highlighted by a very successful Junior National meet
in Santa Clara. Shannon OíNeal, Ashley
Messersmith, Kylie Williams and Allison Mahlstedt, scored
in all relays. Allison became the fastest freestyler
in Dad's Club History. Francisco Padua improved his 400 IM
and 200 backstroke. Mark VanAkkeren
qualified for Senior Nationals in the 400IM and 200 Fly, an
event he won.
1996-97 At the spring Senior National meet, Mark Van Akkeren
placed 8th in 200 fly. Kylie Williams placed
second at the UIL high school swim meet with a Senior National
time. |
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