SPY Brings Competitive Swimming To Severna Park

The Severna Park YMCA Swim Team, or SPY, has been around almost 50 years, and the team’s long list of accomplishments include three Olympic Trials qualifiers and more than 200 athletes who went on to compete at the collegiate level.

You don’t have to be an Olympic or NCAA hopeful to participate in SPY, though. The team competes in meets that offer events for age groups ranging from 8 and under to high schoolers. Most practices are held at the Severna Park Community Center.

“It’s got to be fun, and you’ve got to have friends,” said SPY head coach Crystee Ballard, who once swam for SPY and went on to don the swim cap of Towson State University.

For the younger swimmers, the coaching staff of SPY aims to foster a love of the sport with a more relaxed practice option to give athletes opportunities to compete in other sports and activities. As swimmers develop, they may opt for a more intense practice schedule when they’re ready to fully dive into being a year-round competitive swimmer.

“It keeps you in shape, and I just have good friends here,” said 13-year-old Severn River Middle School student Jojo Navarro, who is in his sixth year with SPY. “They push you to your limits, they encourage you and they’re competitive.”

SPY swimmers have the opportunity to represent the Anne Arundel County YMCA in “Y” competitions as well as compete in United States Swimming-sanctioned meets. The Colorado Springs, Colorado-based USA Swimming is the national governing body for amateur competitive swimming.

Ballard, who has been head coach of SPY since 2005, touted the virtues of competitive swimming by pointing out the demands of the sport and how it helps youth optimize their time management skills.

“The most rewarding thing is when they reach their goals,” Ballard said.

Ballard keeps in touch with many of her swimmers even years after they age out of SPY. In fact, many former SPY swimmers who are now swimming for college programs come back during their breaks to train with their former team.

Severna Park High School sophomore Collin Mays aims to be one of those college swimmers one day and wants to continue to do laps for the rest of his life.

“It’s mostly about self-improvement,” Collin said. “SPY makes it fun to swim, and I want to be here every day.”

Although SPY competes in meets both close by and in those that require travel, one of the team’s annual highlights is Winterfest. This invitational meet, featuring more than 1,200 athletes and 40 teams, is hosted by SPY over a three-day period at the University of Maryland.

Nine-year-old Samantha Rogers is swimming with SPY for the first time this year after whetting her appetite for the sport with her summer league swim team.

“I learn a lot from the coaches,” Samantha said. “We go to different states a lot. I like that.”

Lily Quill, a sophomore at Severna Park High School who favors the 400-yard individual medley event, said she’s tried other sports, but she found her true lane in the pool.

“I like the team part, and it also has an individual component,” Lily said.

Ballard said she hopes that SPY swimmers keep the love of the sport going into adulthood as a way to stay healthy and fit.

“It’s definitely a lifetime sport,” Ballard said.

More information about SPY can be found at www.spyswimteam.org.