LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Some would say that the most important goal in sports is to win.
While the Faith Lutheran swim team has seen success over the years, maybe its greatest accomplishment can't be measured by a stopwatch.
For over a decade, the Crusaders have emphasized inclusion through the school's Mark 10:14 special education program. Starting with one swimmer who had a disability, the effort has grown to the point where in this last season, the 50-athlete team included five Mark 10:14 members, four boys and one girl.
“The cut sports, that’s just hard for anyone to get into. Swim, we just want everybody on the team, so it works so well," long-time Faith Lutheran swim coach Stephen Blank told Channel 13's Nick Walters. "They’re going to get to compete. They’re not going to be on the bench all the time. They would be in the water.”
The individual scores from the special needs kids mean just as much as the scores from regular club swimmers. Their performance holds the same weight when calculating the team's final score at a swim meet.
“A lot of special needs kids have mobility issues; that’s not really an issue in the pool," Blank said. "You go there and back, there are short distances, you can be done in a minute. It really works well for what they want, to have that team experience. The commitment for an event, however long we want it to be, but it can be really short, so we really tailor it to their needs.”
As more teachers in the special education program suggest to parents for their kids to try out swim, the better participation has become.
“We had four boys this year," Blank said. "We would always put relays together intermixing with their teammates. But with four, one of the cool things we got to do was make it just those four in certain meets with just their classmates, just their friends.”
Both the boys and girls Faith swim teams finished top 3 in their class. The special needs athletes are celebrated as much as anyone else on the squads, if not more.
“The whole pool rises to their feet when they see these kids swimming," Blank said. "One of our Mark 10:14 kids actually stopped in the middle of the pool and fist pump in the middle of his race. He’s riled up by the crowd, and that riles the crowd up even more. And the coaches come up to me saying this is the high point of the meet."
Including challenged students who usually wouldn't be on the team has improved the experience for regular swimmers and has emphasized what it means to be a teammate.
“I’m a club swimmer as well so I get to swim with people who are maybe just learning how to swim or aren’t as experienced," rising sophomore Bridget Stovall said. "Some of them are working on their forms or working more on their speed, but as you go throughout the season you see that a lot of them are improving and some of them, they swim like me. They have similar strokes to what I have and they’re really fast. I love that part, watching them grow.”
When asked what options non-Faith Lutheran parents have to get their special needs student children into swim, Coach Blank suggests they check with their local school's administration.
“If you want them in sports, swim is a great sport," Blank said. "You don’t have to go to Faith Lutheran to be a part of swim. We’d love to have you here but at your school, talk to your (athletic director) and get a conversation going with the swim coach. Things will come together. I’m positive."
