F
or years, Bow Valley Riptides head coach Don Tremblay has searched for a swimmer heir apparent to Will and Peter Brothers.
Before moving to Victoria, the Brothers were kings of the Canmore-based club, which served as an early indicator for their current success on the national scene. But in 14-year-old Neo Gleason, Tremblay may have found the one to match their dominance.
“I think I have around eight records right now (he has 12). Will and Peter have a lot of the records, so I’m just trying to beat theirs,” Gleason said.
Given the calibere of the Canmore-trained Brothers brothers, it’s no small feat.
Peter Brothers was named Canada’s male youth swimmer of the year in 2012 and is swimming for the University of Victoria, while Will Brothers was a member of Canada’s 2013 world championships team, where he was 25th overall in the 1,500 metre freestyle. But Gleason believes he has the drive and passion to pursue his favourite sport to the greatest stage.
“I love swimming. I feel so good when I’m doing it. When you’re racing fast, it feels even better,” said Gleason.
The fly specialist possesses diamond focus in pursuit of his dreams, which include a trip to the Olympic Games.
“I dream about it every day. That is the goal I set for myself. In Grade 8, I actually considered going farther in swimming. Until then, it was more of a hobby. Swimming is my main focus right now,” Gleason said.
He started competitive swimming at the age of 7, and was soon hooked.
“That’s when I had my first meet. I only swam one event – the 50 backstroke. I came in second. The guy beat me because I didn’t know how to do a flip turn,” Gleason said.
Since then, the sport has become his prime focus.
“I do seven practices a week, two hours each, so around 14 hours every week. I was having a lot of difficulty, because I started high school last year. I decided I should be doing online learning, so I dropped out of the high school and now do all of my work from home,” Gleason said.
“It’s amazing for swimming. Before I would get minimal sleep, and my grades were dropping. I was failing pretty much every class except for gym. Last year, I had 90s in all of my core subjects.”
Home schooling is allowing him to improve his marks and make early morning practice, Gleason said, but that doesn’t mean he’s lightened his course load. He’s actually taking more classes this year, thanks to his previous high marks and his swim load is equally heavy. He’s managed to turn his weakest stroke, the fly, into his strength.
“I used to be awful at it. For half a year, I did nothing but fly. By the end of it, I had tendinitis in my shoulders, but I was doing fly like mad,” Gleason said. “The big ‘aha’ moment was getting the technique. When you have good technique, it goes naturally. It’s a very fluid motion.”
Swimming up to 4,000m per workout, cross-country skiing and training for triathlon in the summer (Gleason is also a member of the Alberta junior triathlon team), Gleason’s athleticism is incredibly strong for his age. If his swimming falters, he plans to be just as strong in triathlon.
“A heavy workout is three to four thousand metres. It doesn’t sound like much, but in swimming, that’s quite a lot. I do cross-country ski in the winter to keep my cardio up, and in the spring and summer, I do triathlon,” Gleason said. “I get right out there on the swim, pull ahead on the bike, and die on the run.”
His big goal this year is Canadian nationals. To qualify, he’ll have to be one of the 100 fastest 14-year-old swimmers in the nation. It’s an attainable goal, but Gleason knows it will take a lot of work.
“I have to swim as fast as possible,” Gleason said. “I remind myself every day, I have to come to swim practice, no matter how I’m feeling.”
He loves the Riptides and the hands on coaching.
“I prefer it a lot more than any other club. When I’m with Don, he can really focus on us. Every day, he improves us,” Gleason said. “Before each race, he talks about what we’re going to do, how we’re going to do it. He breaks down every five metres, and we discuss it afterwards.”
Gleason isn’t the only one smashing Riptides records. Banff’s Emiko Osborne, 12, has only been swimming competitively for two years with the Riptides, but already owns 12 club records. She finished third at provincials last summer, and picked up two gold medals at the Alberta Summer Games in the 400 and 800 m freestyle.
“I always liked going to the pool, but later in lessons I was told I should get more seriously into it,” Osborne said.
Switching from Red Cross lessons to Riptides, she had to re-learn her strokes and transformed herself into a freestyle specialist. In the pool seven times a week, swimming between three and four kilometres each session under the watchful eye of Tremblay, Osborne has blossomed into one of the club’s stronger swimmers.
“I like the distance stuff. It has more to do with technique and streamlining, and not about strength,” Osborne said.
This year, she’s set her sights on earning a trip to the age group nationals competition, and she’ll need to record three national-level times to earn a trip. Osborne thrives under the pressure of big meets, and is relishing the chance to face tough competition.
“I love to compete and that aspect of it. It feels natural,” Osborne said. “I really like it when I touch the wall and look at the other lanes and see if I came first, or look up at my time … I’m fit, but not into sports involving a ball.”
With so much time dedicated to swimming, Osborne has little time for other sports. It takes dedication to swim seven times a week, but she says she has big dreams within the sport.
“The dream is to go to the Olympics. I’ve watched a couple of Olympic trials. They seem fast and distant, but I’m trying to get there,” Osborne said. “I know that each practice you miss will affect your results. Unless I’m really sick, I go.”
She’d love to have a career in swimming once she’s done, and could see herself becoming a coach one day.
“I like pushing my time.”
Both will compete at Elevation Place in Early December, while chasing age group trials times in the new year.
