Small-school swimmers find home with Neptunes

The YMCA program benefits swimmers from ages 4-18.
VINDICATOR STAFF REPORT
YOUNGSTOWN -- If you're a high school swimmer at one of the smaller schools in the Valley, you might run into a small problem when trying to join your school's swim team.
Namely, you don't have one.
Enter the Y-Neptunes, a YMCA team located at the downtown Central Branch, that provides coaching and facilities for about 140 area swimmers from ages 4-18.
"Our program is known for being very strong in teaching technique," said Neptunes coach Sue Mellish. "That's what we focus on."
The route
Since few area schools have a team, many swimmers choose to swim with the Neptunes during the YMCA's regular season then compete for their high schools starting in February.
"This is a great program, which supports our local YMCA, and has proven itself to be a wonderful resource for those swimmers who don't have the benefit of a large school and dedicated school coaching, and yet are able to compete on the same level with those larger schools," said Tom Boniface, whose son, Tom, attends Mooney and swims with the Neptunes.
Of this year's area district qualifiers, eight swim with the Neptunes either during the season or in the off season: Morgan McCarty (Mooney), Stephanie Case (Columbiana), Boniface (Mooney), Ryan Nasci (Liberty), Julianne Dundee (South Range), Katie Henson (Boardman), Alicia Harker (Poland) and Jeff Cowles (Poland).
Identity
"It's neat because our high schoolers very much identify themselves as Neptune swimmers," said Mellish, who lives in Lisbon and is assisted by coaches Jessica Sheppard, Stacy Sowers and Pat Pichette. "They'll go to their different sectionals and they'll be from different high schools, but they all feel like they're on the same team.
"They're like one big group of siblings. They want each other to do well, even when they're competing in the same events."
Several other area swimmers from larger programs such as Boardman or Canfield have also spent time with the Neptunes.
In addition, if the student is a YMCA member and swims in three meets with the Neptunes before the high school season starts, they can rejoin the team after the high school season and, compete at the Great Lake Zones Championships (which are in March) as well as the YMCA Senior Short Course National Championships (at the Fort Lauderdale Aquatics Center in April) and the YMCA Senior Long Course National Championships (held at the University of Maryland in July).
Start young
The team is not just for high school students, either. Swimmers can begin as young as age 4 (or whenever they can swim the length of the pool) and compete in different age groups up through high school.
"The majority of the kids who swim for the Neptunes also swim on a summer team through the Youngstown Swim League," said Mellish. "They end up finding each other and mingling together at dual meets, so they have friends from other school districts.
The Neptunes is a fun program that fosters friendships and a love for swimming."
For details on how to join the Y-Neptunes, call the downtown YMCA at 330-744-8411 or visit the team's website at www.y-neptunes.com.