YMCA Sharks to Swim with the Nation's Best

The Wyckoff Family YMCA Sharks will receive instructions this weekend from two of the best swimmers in the nation.

Today and Sunday, the Y swim team will be treated to a clinic taught by two gold medal Olympians, Josh Davis and Kim Vandenberg.

The pair will appear courtesy of the Mutual of Omaha's Breakout! Swim Clinic, which offers the chance to "bust bad habits, build new skills, uncover hidden talent and stand out among the crowd."

"We created this as a vehicle for the Olympians to give back to the community and meet the younger swimmers," said Shantel Davis, the director of operations for the USA Swim Clinics, which partnered with Mutual of Omaha to create the Breakout! Swim Clinic.   

Shantel Davis, who is married to Josh Davis, said the Olympian will not only teach kids how to perfect their stroke, he will offer life skills tips.

"Josh uses swimming as an opportunity to offer what he calls his 'Seven Habits of Highly Effective Athletes,' " Shantel Davis said. 

She added, "His goal for his course is threefold, and that is to influence, impact and instruct." 

"While swimming and athleticism is great to have, it helps to have a positive and growing view of other areas in your life," she said. "So many of these young athletes are overwhelmed with the perspective to perform, and we show there is so much more to life." 

Vandenberg agrees with the approach.

"My best advice to give to new athletes and new swimmers would be to be patient with yourselves, it takes a lot of time and work to reach your goals, take the time, learn the correct technique and don't be too hard on yourself. Be persistent and dedicated to what you want to accomplish, whatever goal you may have," she said.

Josh Davis came to prominence when, at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, he won three gold medals. He followed up the stellar performance by captaining the U.S. team at the 2000 Sydney games, when he added two silver medals to his collection of hardware.

At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Vandenberg was part of the freestyle relay team that won a bronze medal. She took home a silver medal when she participated in the 200-meter butterfly swim at the 2007 World Swimming Championships. 

But Vandenberg said the work she put in to medal is what really counts.

"Winning any medal is a combination of many emotions—satisfaction, joy, gratitude and appreciation. But for me its the journey of getting there that really matters in the end," she said.

Every participant in the Breakout! Swim Clinic will receive instruction on swimming strokes; an explanation of how the body, mind and heart work together and their impact on swimming; the Olympians will sign autographs and take pictures; and each student gets a T-shirt, poster and DVDs. 

"We really work to make this a fun and instructional event," said Shantel Davis. 

Josh Davis has been working with kids for 12 years, doing about 50 to 75 events a year.

"He is good at knowing how to handle kids," she said. "And it helps that we have five of our own," Shantel Davis said.  

While the Sharks will surely appreciate instruction from such prominent competitors, Vandenberg said the clinic offers her just as much satisfaction.

"It's very special for me to know I have made some kind of impact in someone's life; when I do swim clinics for Mutual of Omaha I feel like I am giving something back to the sport that has given me more opportunities than I could have ever imagined. I hope I can inspire some of the youth to chase after their dreams and know that anything is possible."

For more information, visit the Breakout! Swim Clinic's website here.