St. Francis coach honored for work with disabled swimmers |
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Written by LAURIE STEVENS BERTKE, Chronicle Writer
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Thursday, 10 December 2009 00:00 |
TOLEDO—From training swimmers with disabilities to teaching inner city kids how to swim, Keith Kennedy has made inclusion a priority as head swim coach for Toledo St. Francis de Sales High School and Greater Toledo Aquatic Club (GTAC).
Keith Kennedy, the head swim coach and pool director at Toledo St. Francis de Sales High School, recently received the National Disability Swimming Service Award from USA Swimming. (Chronicle photo by Laurie Stevens Bertke)
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Along with coaching the St. Francis and GTAC teams, Mr. Kennedy works with veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as a Swim Clinician for the U.S. Olympic Committee Military Summit and serves as a U.S. Paralympic Team Coach. Two GTAC swimmers he coached were chosen to compete on the 2004 USA Paralympic Team, in Athens, Greece.
Mr. Kennedy also started the GTAC Disability Swimming Open, now in its seventh year, and oversees various other programs to accommodate swimmers with disabilities through the nonprofit GTAC, including year-round training for Special Olympics swimmers from the region.
Nevertheless, Mr. Kennedy says it came as a “huge shock” to him when he learned he was to receive this year’s National Disability Swimming Service Award from USA Swimming. The coach was honored in September at the USA Swimming National Convention for “his outstanding and continuous effort in making GTAC a place where everyone can swim and creating opportunities for swimmers with disabilities throughout the nation.”
“I didn’t really expect that. Usually it’s an older individual that’s been doing it a lot longer than I,” relates Mr. Kennedy, 36. “So that was a nice humbling moment.”
Mr. Kennedy is in his 10th season as head swim coach and aquatics director for St. Francis. He also coaches and serves as CEO for GTAC, a competitive swim program that rents pool space in several locations, including the natatorium of St. Francis de Sales High School.
The arrangement has been mutually beneficial for both entities over the years.
“A lot of times the boys will get involved with GTAC and then they’ll see that their mentors are kids that swim for St. Francis, because all the kids that swim for St. Francis usually, most of them, come from the club team or they’re on the club team,” Mr. Kennedy explains. “The St. Francis boys will train in the off-season — spring and summer — with GTAC, and represent GTAC during the season.”
The first swimmer Mr. Kennedy trained for the U.S. Paralympics was Beth Riggle, a student from Toledo Notre Dame Academy. Ms. Riggle, who was born without a right hand and forearm, came to GTAC from another swim program that “wanted to put her in with the 8 and unders,” Mr. Kennedy says. “She was in high school and I said, ‘I’m not going to do that, we’re going to put you in with kids that are the same age — now, you might be behind, but that’s ok, we’ll work with you and get better.’ ”
Soon after that Mr. Kennedy also began coaching Beth Kolbe of Tiffin, and both young women made the 2004 U.S. Paralympic Team. Ms. Riggle went on to compete, winning Bronze and Gold medals.
Mr. Kennedy says he started the GTAC Disability Open to help swimmers with disabilities prepare for the U.S. Paralympic trials. Between 80 and 100 swimmers from the U.S., Mexico and Canada usually participate in the annual event at the University of Cincinnati.
As a national team coach for the U.S. Paralympics, Mr. Kennedy travels to both international and national competitions.
He says the only difference between coaching able-bodied swimmers and those with disabilities is that he sometimes has to modify things to accommodate swimmers with disabilities, who might use flotation devices or paddles.
“I think you just become more of a well-rounded coach, where you can deal with any adversity that comes up,” Mr. Kennedy says. “A lot of it’s transferable into able-bodied swimming.”
The coach describes himself as “a big idea person that tries to get things rolling.”
One of the newest programs he oversees through GTAC is the Josh Project, which offers discounted swim lessons to disadvantaged youth.
The idea for the program came from Wanda Butts, a Toledo mother who lost her 16-year-old son, Josh, to drowning in 2006.
Drowning is the leading accidental cause of death among urban children age 5 to 15, according to the GTAC Web site, and African-American children who reside in the central city are two to five times more likely to drown than others.
Josh Project swim lessons are held every Saturday at St. Francis, and Mr. Kennedy says some of the participants are now getting involved in other GTAC programs.
The coach says he tries to use swimming to teach young athletes life lessons about concepts such as dedication, teamwork and character development. “At the end of the day, if we can swim fast, that’s icing on the cake,” he says.
Oblate of St. Francis de Sales Father Ron Olszewski, president of St. Francis de Sales High School, describes Mr. Kennedy as a very dedicated swim coach.
“Just as the swimmers themselves are required to put in long hours of practice in order to excel, so too does Keith as their coach,” says Fr. Olszewski. “He also has a very special place in his heart to teach swimming skills to physically handicapped and socially disadvantaged children. In that regard he shows his Knight swimmers how important it is to reach out in service to others.”
Mr. Kennedy, who is Christian but not Catholic, says he loves working at the Catholic high school. “It’s fun to work here; the camaraderie is good,” he says. “I have a lot of close friends that work here as well, which is nice. It’s a great atmosphere, it really is.”
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For more information on programs of Greater Toledo Aquatic Club, visit www.gtacswim.com.
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 26 May 2010 13:33 |
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