Emma's Pentathlon

Good times...Good times

It’s that time of year again where Emma starts to put into play, all of her practice. Over the last couple weekends, Emma has had a long swim meet and, of course like any 6 year old, a soccer game. Call me a nutso dad, but I love watching Emma compete. It’s not about her winning, or scoring a goal. It’s about watching her get out there and give her best, have fun, and be proud of what she did. She loves to “debrief” her events immediately after…which I enjoy as well. There are times that I really wonder what’s going on in her mind when she it out there. Because when I was 8, and was playing soccer, I have no clue what was going through my head…probably Leggos.

The record setting girls 8 and under 200 free relay team

Same record setting team...not looking quite as fast

Two weekends ago, Emma had a swim meet that was a pentahlon. Now, I had not clue what this really meant. I knew it must have something to do with the number 5. To me, it was a swim meet. And watching Emma swim is pure joy. Since we were traveling from Lewiston where Jessi was racing a triathlon, where she was the overall winner (insert big smile and super proud husband here), we would miss Emma's very first swim of the day, and that would also be her very first attempt at the 100 IM. This is a race that they do a 25 of each stroke, butterfly, back, breast, and freestyle. The hard part of this stroke for a little 6 year old is the technical aspect of it. Needing to touch with 2 hands on certain strokes, stay on your back until 1 stroke on the backstroke, kicks have to be correct for butterfly and breast…the list goes on. I would forget the order of the dang race, not to mention all the stroke technique. On our way back, Jessi called Rory (her amazing coach) and told him to look for Emma and talk to her. Because once Emma found out she was doing the IM, she was a bit nervous. But after her talk with Rory, and a Dairy Queen deal he made with her, she was all set. Emma gave her all and ended up getting the 4^th best time of the day for the 8 and under. Uh, that’s awesome! Her first IM and she did not get DQ’d. I’d say that’s a winner. But to get 1st in the heat, and 4th overall is amazing! Jessi spoke to Emma and she was so excited. Not for the 4^th place of course, but Rory had to buy her Dairy Queen. We continued to speed home in hopes to make her next event which was the butterfly.

We were able to get there about 10 minutes before she raced the butterfly. Watching Emma race the butterfly might be my favorite. This stroke is very hard physically, and when you watch kids do it right, it looks easy. There did not seem to be any nerves with this stroke. She has done it before and it was just one length. She ended up winning the heat and she had the 4^th fastest time for the 8 and under group in this stroke as well. Amazing! This was when Jessi and I were informed as to what a “pentahlon” was. Basically, the top 6 would be presented with a medal in a somewhat “formal” awards presentation. For Emma to be 6, and on a podium with 8 and almost 9 year olds, would be so exciting for her. But we did not mention any of this to her since she still had a long way to go. She dropped time in the butterfly which she always wants to know.

Next stroke for her was the backstroke. This used to be her favorite and best, but I think she likes the butterfly more now…don’t know. I love watching her start this stroke because she pushes up and off the wall and then does a dolphin kick under water for a bit. It’s pretty impressive, and then she gets into her stroke. This was an excellent race for her. Her kick was good and her arms were fast. Most kids in all the 25s are about the same for about 10-15 yards, but then all of a sudden, things separate a bit. She again won her heat and dropped time in the backstroke as well.

Emma had a little time before the breast stroke, which isn’t her favorite, but her form looks solid now and looks like she moves through the water well. Since her coach is a phenomenal breast stroker, (fastest time in the nation for div III). I think he has helped her quite a bit and has created a bit of passion about the stroke. Her stroke looked great and she won her heat and dropped time. Things were looking good. I cannot remember what her place was overall for the breast, maybe 9^th?

The last stroke was the freestyle. Emma is pretty solid at this, but so is just about everyone else. She is still trying to go under 20 seconds of the bulkhead. I think she can do this off the blocks, but the bulkhead is a lot lower. She took off and swam with all her heart. Her time was fast enough to win her heat, and I cannot remember where she was overall. I think top 10. She was excited to be done, and find out that she again dropped time.

Afterward, we hung out a bit and chatted with the many great people that are involved with swimming. Jessi took Emma to make sure she washed her hair correctly so it would not turn green. Emma has a habit of rushing through this process a bit. Jessi normally goes with her ALL the time now at practice. Emma gets a little sidetracked in the locker room with talking to people and hanging out in the shower.

They were about to begin the awards, so we went to the pool. They started with Emma’s group, and started with 6^th place. Emma was not really paying attention to any of this since she has never been a part of the “awards” in swimming. She races against 8 and 10 year olds…chances that she will do well overall, is slim. They announced 6^th, and it wasn’t Emma. Then they announced 5^th, and it wasn’t Emma. At this point I thought she was out. Then they announced 4^th, and that went to none other than, Emma Thompson. She did not know what to do. She walked over there and got onto the podium, which she is familiar with from triathlons. She stood there very proud and clapped as the others got their awards too. She was so excited and proud. Jessi and I were excited and proud too. Emma loves to get recognition (don’t we all), and I know she will remember this experience for a long time. It will also fuel her for future events because she will want to be on that podium again. But I know she will want to be looking down at more people next time.

Emma on the podium

Emma...very proud

Emma with all the other winners

Jessi and I are so proud of Emma and her desire to work hard on a daily basis. She sees these challenges and meets them. She gets nervous before the race, but once she is lining up, it’s ‘game on.’ We would be absolute idiots if we thought that Emma does this all on her own. It is the support of many fine people in her life that give her the positive feedback on a daily basis. From coaches, to friends, to family…Emma seems to inspire us all, and she is also inspired by us as well. We all want our kids to enjoy something…and activity, sport, instrument, …anything. And when they do, it’s magical.

Thanks to all of you that have given parts of yourself to make Emma feel validated and appreciated. She smiles, sings, and laughs on a daily basis because she is one happy kid.

Frozen Flatlands...Holy He##!

Photo by Sue Hutter

This weekend would be my first return to a multi staged cycling event. It was the Frozen Flatlands in Cheney, WA put on by the Baddlands Bicycle Club. I feel it necessary to mention Baddlands because any group that puts on bike races I truly admire and respect. It’s no easy task, but they make it look so simple. The race saw over 500 people registered to race this multi staged, multi day event. It consisted of a time trial, and 2 road races… one being 47 miles (right after the TT), and then a shorter 25 mile road race the following day.

Pat, Cris, Roger, Mark

This event is the one that recently reassembled the Arrivee Cycling Club (Mark, Pat, Cris and myself) about 3 weeks ago…on a whim. For more on that, visit arrivee.blogspot.com. So as the 4 of us got to the venue, it would only be me racing the TT that day. This is one advantage to the Omnium format. You do not need to race all the events. You can, or you can pick and choose which ones you want to do. Since they did not have the miles, or recovery in their legs, they all decided to forgo the 20k TT. Made sense really, it was windy, cold, and…well… it was a TT. Nothing says miserable like an individual TT. But to their credit, they came to the event to support regardless. My time to take off was at 10:39:30. They sent us off at 30 second intervals. Our road race would go off in the afternoon at 2:15pm. I only say this because all 3 of these guys came out to cheer me on, when they could have stayed in bed for a few more hours.

Now, let me simply explain what an individual time trial is. The official says “go”…you ride as hard as you can for 20k… then you cross the finish line and you are done. It is known as “The Race of Truth,” because there is no drafting, teammates, support, nowhere to hide…nothing. It’s just you against the clock. Now, as bad as this sounds, these are my most favorite races. Eliminate the variables, and the strongest on the day, on that course, will win. This is probably why I like triathlon so much. It’s one big time trial but you have to swim and run too. Sure, there is strategy, but it’s “your” strategy.

I am always impressed, or surprised really, how much cyclists warm up for races. When I raced (you will hear this a lot), we got on our bikes, rode a mile to make sure all 7 gears worked and the brakes did not rub, and then waited for our start. Now I see people warming up for 30 minutes to an hour on trainers. Oh well, maybe something I can learn from. After sitting in the car for as long as possible, I started to get ready. The weather did not really lend itself to “hanging out.” It was 34 degrees and the wind was gusting up to ~35 mph. As horrible as that sounds, I LOVE racing in conditions like this. Throw in a little rain/snow…ideal. Not my favorite training conditions, but love to race in them. I rode my traditional mile warm up…give or take…and headed to the start. I had about 3 minutes which I passed by asking one of the officials, Marla Emde (www.emdesports.com, another group here in Spokane that puts on races as well) what the rule is when overtaking another cyclist. Obviously I know what it is in triathlon, but in cycling it is much different. The draft zone is more than 20 meters long and 2 meters wide and you cannot enter the draft zone. Holy crap! That is one big zone. But unlike triathlon, TTs are a bit more spaced out and overtaking other riders does not happen too frequently. Glad I asked Marla, because I did not know this.

This is a great video that Dave Erickson (www.daveerickson360.com) created.

Soon my time to start came, and I was ready roll. I took off like I would normally in a tri or TT. I soon found myself battling headwinds and crosswinds. I knew they were out there, but my upper body was working very hard to maintain a straight line. It was tough, but I watched my power, and kept it honest…maybe a little high, but I would soon see that come down. I caught a few people ahead of me, so I knew I was moving right along. I eventually hit the turnaround and was headed back. I looked at my time and saw that I was right about 15 minutes. I thought that was pretty good since I “should” have a little tailwind coming back…hopefully. For the first bit, it still seemed windy. But there were a few sweet spots that allowed for a tail from time to time. Once I got to about 5k to go, it seemed to turn into mostly a tail/cross wind. This was very welcomed. I took as much advantage of it as I could, and pressed on home. My legs were feeling like tree stumps and the thought of a 47 mile road race later that day, lingered. But I needed top focus on what I was doing now. Nothing worse than losing a TT by a second or two. I kept winding it up as much as I could and came across the line with the day’s fastest time at 27:29. I was very happy with the time considering the conditions. It was nice to have Pat, Cris, Mark, Jessi, and Dave out there cheering me on and getting some great pics too. Now, on to the 47 mile road race.

The road race was only 3 hours away and I needed to get some food in me. I went to subway and fueled up a little. Cycling is a little different from triathlon in that it’s not all at threshold. There is a lot of recovery going on, so I was not as particular as to what and when I was eating...it was that I was eating. I was excited to dust off my new Orbea Orca recently outfitted with the new Shimano di2. Okay, there really wasn’t much dust because I have only had it 1 week.

Photo by Sue Hutter

Photo by Sue Hutter

I was a tad nervous to be in a pack of 75 riders, but I had been there before. The winds were still kickin’ and it snowed from time to time. The pack was not too interested in doing much work so it all ended up being decided on a hill with 10 miles to go. The pack broke up and there was a group of 15, or so, of us moving towards the finish. Things got a little crazy with 300 meters to go as we overtook 3 people from the race ahead, but I was still able to muster out an 8th place finish. Not too sure my legs knew what was going on when I asked them to “sprint,” but they did what they could. I was very happy with my efforts at the front of this group and a bit disappointed with the unwillingness by the majority to get their nose in the wind. But that may be whole separate post.

It was a long, and cold, day that was full of highs and lows. But all in all, I was happy to be back on the road again and sharing this with 3 other teammates that I had done this with before. Afterwards, it was great to hear about everyone’s race and what happened and where. I know we will only get stronger and fitter.

The next day, Easter, our pack would start at 10:40. Kind of nice since I could use the sleep. Again, I showed up 2 hours early, only to sit around and talk with some good people. As I rushed to get my gear on, and number pinned, I was once again able to muster up a 1 mile warm up ride with the guys. Old school I guess since the gals next to us had been on their trainers for an hour by now. Ironically, none of them won their field sprint either…go figure?

This race was substantially shorter, and for a lack of a better explanation, easier. It was relatively flat and the pack stayed together. But, unfortunately, it was the same people doing the work at the front. Surviving several near crashes by people not paying attention, I made it to the finish leading out what was to be a very difficult and chaotic sprint. I finished towards the end of the pack and cruised back to the car. Pat was also in the pack and launched a few attacks as well. Nice to see him up there. Cris reeled in some breakaways and defended the front a bit and then ended up finishing on the pack’s heels. Mark, on his new bike, took off of the front early on and mixed things up as well. It was so great seeing all these guys out there and having fun. The only thing we lack is fitness. And that all comes in time.

On a side note, Jessi raced her first TT as well and won her division, and placed 5th overall female. Pretty cool for someone who still expected to run a 10k afterward. She looked very comfortable out there and I may have even overheard her say that she wants a road bike.

Thanks to everyone that helped with the race, raced, and suffered out in the elements regardless. It was a fun weekend.

Little Timex Global Trainer Video

I made this video from some random clips I had from a ride I did with Jessi and Steve on a beautiful Saturday morning. The ride was magnificent, and the company was better. Thanks for the ride guys!

Steve and Jessi

TIMEX Team Camp

I really don't know where to start on this one, or what to talk about. Do I start with how amazing the experience was? Do I focus on the support that TIMEX and other sponsors provided? Do I talk about the phenomenal experience hanging out and working with New York Giant athletes and staff? Or do I simply try to share the attention to detail that was not spared whatsoever? Tough call. I think I will just post a bunch of pics and try to explain what it all was, and you can formulate what you want.

The entry area to the Timex Performance Center (TPC)

I am not too sure what a Superbowl trophy goes for on ebay...but multiply that by 3.

Uh, well, if you follow football legends, then you will know that this is Carl Banks. He judged our videos we made. Pretty cool.
New York Giants...literally.

One of the many classy touches that TIMEX corporate did for us. Too cool.

This is the locker room where our names were in place of the New York Giants' names. I was down a bit from Eli Manning's, but mainly because I wanted to give him a little room. I tend to spread my stuff out a bit.

The TIMEX Performance Center where the New York Giants train. There were dumbells that were 150 lbs. We watched some of the guys doing some high rep sets with 325lbs on the bar...ya, I could do that, if I wanted to.

This is actually an underwater treadmill with jets. Kind of like an endless pool, and could be used similarly but you can also run on it too.

This was part of an assessment that indicates the potential for injury in certain areas. Pretty cool. There are a couple areas that I am more susceptible in getting injured.
VO2 Max Testing. Ya, it hurt, but a nice gift. There is a guy on the team with a VO2 max of 85. Can't tell you who though.

The indoor practice field...full sized and all that fancy rubber composite grass. We played a few football games on it. You want to see something funny? Watch successful triathletes play football. There are really no winners...just a lot of funny pictures.

Medieval Times...and the entire TIMEX crew. Quite entertaining, both the sporting event and the team.

The Big Apple baby!

Out front of the David Letterman Show Studios.

This is a pizza place right next to the David Letterman studios.

Hanging out with some pretty amazing people. Tim Hola, Rachel Ross, and Trista Francis

Getting my first NYC hot dog and pretzel

It looks like a normal hot dog. But it's not. It's a New York Hot Dog...totally different.

Bright lights, big city

If you cannot read, the front of the New York Times.

As always, this short 4 day camp is always a great time. It's an opportunity to have all the athletes on the team in one place and making some great connections. We will see one another from time to time throughout the year, but not everyone. Obviously the support from the team is phenomenal. But you will see all the new clothes, bikes, wheels, and other equipment in time. The camp this year was like no other. And yes, I know how lucky I am.

Though I never have really followed football before, I am now a New York Giants fan.

An Amazing Story about Coach Glory

I was first introduced, or came to know, Rory Buck about a year ago at Pirate Night at Whitworth. This was a swim meet against division nemesis PLU. It was at that time I heard about this guy from South Africa that was a 22 year old freshman who swam Division one times. At that meet he smashed the pool record, and jaws dropped on the pool deck. Not only from the challenger PLU, but from Whitworth swimmers and coaching staff as well. What did they have in their arsinal?

It was after that that our paths, or lanes, crossed a little closer as Rory would often join our Master swim group at 5:30am at the Whitworth pool. Rory would not swim with us, he would simply use the lane next to us... more importantly, next to me. It was very humbling to see a swimmmer doing a breaststroke kick cool down set faster than I could swim an all out 50 freestyle. It was kind of like snorkeling in the ocean and watching the fish dance around you. And I think from time to time Rory would look at me, like the fish do, and wonder what the heck I was doing in the water. I really enjoy watching great swimmers swim, and Rory was definitely one of them. He was all business in the pool with his coach standing with a stopwatch at the end of the lane. It wasn't until a bit later when I learned that Rory was a normal person. Well, simply had something in common with me at least. It was one morning when he stood on the bulk head and did not want to jump in to the water because it was cold. I have that experience every time I get in the pool, or hot tub. I hate the dramatic change in the temperature.

After that, Rory seemed to loosen up a bit towards the "Master Hacks," I mean "swimmers," and actually coached the group from time to time. As a coach, he was/is phenomenal. No doubt about that. There is no question that his coaching style is not for everyone, but if you want honesty, progression, and a no excuse attitude, look no further. If you came to swim when he was coaching, in his mind, you came to swim to get better and faster. That means lots of hard work.

Glory and Jessi

It was during those sessions, one being about 2 weeks long, that we got to know Rory a little better. Jessi is a magician with making connections with people and getting them to show their true colors. Between her and Tiffany at the master swims, they made him smile quite a bit.

It was also during this time that Emma's coach, Luke (who now coaches some of us on Sundays) moved on to a different pool. Taking his place was Rory. I was pretty excited about this because I knew what a phenomenal swimmer he was AND he was from a foreign country. And we all know that the further away someone comes from, the better they are as a coach (sarcasm). Emma was initially afraid of Rory because he was a little more "strict" and "down to business." Being in kindergarden, Emma took everything he said literally. Like the time that he said that if they stop kicking again, he was going to throw his shoe at them. That directly translated to, 'If I do this wrong, I will get hit in the head with his big shoe.' She told her friend Brynn, that started swimming shortly after that, that she needed to be very carful around him. I loved this! For some reason Emma never really grapsed the "R" in Rory. And always called him Glory...and still does, as do we. It wasn't that much longer before Emma was doing impersinations of Rory, and his South African (somewhat Australian/British/New Zealand) accent. She does a pretty good job.

This series of photos are from our backyard when Emma challenged Glory to a race
I am sure Emma is talkin' trash here

Emma, much like Jessi, does a phenomenal job making connections with people and was soon joking around with him and talking with him. She now loves the time she gets to swim with Coach Glory because he's a lot of fun and his expectations for behavior and performance are high. You might even see her sport some some new "glasses" that look quite familiar, like someone who's name rhymes with "story".

Another challenge from Emma

Over the year, we have got to know Rory, his girlfriend Carla, and brother Damon quite well. They even joined us for Thanksgiving this year. All of them are really great people.

Carla and Glory
Carla and Glory

Sitting around at the Thompson's at Thanksgiving

Hanging out at my birthday party (Jessi, Tiffany, Glory)

Carla, Glory, and Damon

After a Whitworth swim meet. Notice the shirts, that is his face on them. Steve made those.

They are an amazing group who's paths somehow crossed ours. Lucky for us. As I have stated in prior posts about Emma, she is so blessed to have so many great people in her life. Coach Glory is definitely one of them.

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The following is an article from the Spokesman Review on Feb. 10th 2009 by Jason Shoot.

Rory Buck lost something that once had been an integral part of his life. He traveled halfway around the world to get it back.

After spending much of his life competing in swimming venues around the African continent, Buck now is a sophomore at Whitworth and a big part of the Pirates’ hunt for an eighth consecutive Northwest Conference championship.

The Whitworth men, who have rolled up 71 consecutive NWC dual-meet victories, can build on their dynasty at the Northwest Conference championships Friday through Sunday at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Wash. The Pirates women are attempting to dethrone defending champion Puget Sound.

Buck’s time of 2 minutes, 3.1 seconds in the 200-yard breaststroke ranks as the fastest time nationally in NCAA Division III this year. Coincidentally, he posted that time in Federal Way in December at the same site as this weekend’s events. Buck also is the favorite in the 100 breaststroke, where his top time of 57.34 is an NWC-best and ranks 10th nationally.

Those are considerable feats for someone who mulled whether he wanted to continue his swimming career at all just 2 years ago.

Born in South Africa, Buck was 9 when his parents moved their family to Malawi, a narrow, landlocked country in southeastern Africa still finding its way in the world after seizing independence from British rule in 1964. A country of 15 million inhabitants, Malawi suffers from an elevated infant mortality rate (89 deaths per 1,000 live births) and low life expectancy (50 years). Like much of Africa, the underdeveloped nation is plagued by widespread HIV/AIDS.

“Malawi is run by agriculture,” Buck said. “Coffee, tobacco and tea drive the country. The two big cities (Blantyre and Lilongwe) are developing pretty quickly. That’s why my father moved there. He works for a construction company.

“Shopping centers, banks – they’re coming up. But Malawi is still very reliant on the agriculture sector. The agriculture sector is not the same as it is here. They’re very dependent on the weather and the amount of rain they get.”

It would be unlikely he could duplicate his experiences in this country, too.

“What Malawi has going for it I’ll be forever grateful,” Buck said. “It’s a very transient society and multicultural society. We had 52 nationalities represented at my high school. … To this day there are no movie theaters, no bowling alleys. What you rely on for entertainment is the people. People are what make the country. The people is what I miss the most.”

Buck graduated from St. Andrews International School in Blantyre, and his family uprooted and moved to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates on the Persian Gulf. Dubai and Malawi share little in common, Buck said.

“Dubai is like Vegas on steroids,” he said of the city – home to the world’s tallest skyscraper and a number of other architectural achievements. “The downside to Dubai is there is more of a focus on you. People are there to make money, and they want to live that lifestyle. … It’s difficult to find good social circles in Dubai.”

Buck returned to South Africa with his goals set on earning a roster spot on that country’s Olympic team for the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing. It also required another cultural adjustment. Black Africans compose nearly 80 percent of the country’s 50 million residents, but South Africa still contends with racism and discrimination issues even after the rule of Nelson Mandela ended more than 10 years ago.

“Once people my age get into power, things will start to change again,” Buck said. “They still don’t have the influence of a Nelson Mandela or a leader like that. As 22-, 23-year-olds get into those positions (of influence), you’ll see the ball start rolling faster.”

Buck, who also excels in swimming’s freestyle sprints, began working on his Olympic bid after graduating high school. He reconnected with a former coach running an Olympic developmental program in South Africa. Then, in 2006, his career was derailed by a serious groin injury.

“I went through two surgeries on my groin region,” Buck said, attributing the injury to too much training. “It took 13 months to recover. … I went to the (Olympic trials) in 2008, but it didn’t go quite as planned. I finished 21st in the 200 breaststroke, if I remember right.”

Buck, then 22, faced a choice of reloading for another run at the 2012 Summer Olympics or finding an alternative plan.

“I wanted to reassess everything,” he said. “When you’ve been bitten by the Olympic bug, it never goes away. But another thought that came to me was that I’d be 26 and not have a degree. I just thought, ‘If something happens, what do I do?’ ”

Buck’s brother, Damon, ultimately offered a solution. Buck’s mother, Alison, was a foreign exchange student in high school living with extended family in Salem, Ore. The Buck family made several trips to the United States over the years to visit relatives.

Damon visited Whitworth during one of those vacations and determined it was where he wanted to earn his college degree.

Damon’s older brother was not far behind.

“Swimming became kind of a job, and I wasn’t enjoying it,” Buck said. “I was in the pool from 5 to 7:30 every morning and from 3 to 8:30 every night. It started getting a little overwhelming, and I started to lose my love for the sport a little bit. After the (Olympic) trials, I decided I wanted to go back and study. I always wanted to study in the U.S.”

Buck found an ideal situation at Whitworth, which satisfied his educational pursuits in kinesiology and business management. The Pirates’ successful swimming program, meanwhile, rekindled his competitive fire.

“It all fit perfectly,” he said. “You’re swimming in a competitive environment, but at Division III, where you can be competitive but still take the edge off. You’re not competing for money. Your school work has as much emphasis as your swim work. That really appealed to me.”

Whitworth assistant coach Gary Kessie acknowledged Buck wasn’t a typical freshman. He was 22 and more developed physically and emotionally, Kessie said. Buck’s swimming – and life – experiences internationally shaped him inside and outside the pool.

“There was a little more maturity, leadership,” Kessie said. “He was a take-charge leader from the get-go, and that’s nice to have from an underclassman. A lot of it is his talent level, and others look up to that. He has experience at the international level and competed at a big-time level. He’s been there, he knows what to do and what’s expected.”

Buck still has work to do in the pool, though. Races in America are distanced by yards, not meters. He also is adjusting to short-course swimming, where the pool length (25 yards) is half that of Olympic pools. Instead of making one turn in a 100-meter race, short-course swimmers make three. Keeping his strokes in rhythm and transitioning through the turns are works in progress, Buck said.

Kessie said Buck’s physical tools help him compensate for any technical shortcomings, however.

“He’s built like a swimmer – big, tall and bulky but with lean muscle,” Kessie said. “He’s knowledgeable about what to do with his body. He’s a very good student.”

Buck wasn’t sure if he consciously embraced a leadership role, but he agreed it came naturally. His lifelong experience dealing with people of myriad backgrounds has served him well.

“There are cultural differences, sure, from where I’ve been,” Buck said. “When you’re in the pool, you’re doing your job and working hard. That’s the same whether you’re here, in Dubai or in South Africa. Anybody who puts in hard work gets respect. People are still people, whether or not their cultures are different.”