BSR swim coach in different league By JAKE LINGER Sports Editor
Swimming is a huge sport in the city of Bowie. And Belair Swim and Racquet has always been one of the more successful programs. However, after a below par 2006, BSR fell from the A Division of the Prince-Mont Swim League to the B Division. A new coach also arrived on the scene. Abbie Thompson, a 24-year-old Bowie resident, was hired to take over a program that has seen much success since its inception in 1972.
In 35 years, BSR has won 11 division titles, 16 City Meets, 10 City Relays and gone undefeated throughout a season nine times. That kind of history can lead parents, many of whom competed in Bowie in their respective youths, to turn into "that" parent - the type who pushes their kid to win at all costs and instills in their youth athlete, "If you're not first, you're last."
How does a coach of a youth swim team keep the athletes excited and loose? "Summer league is supposed to be fun," said Thompson. "If the kids aren't enjoying it then they're not going to come back and swim the next year."
Thompson graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park where she also competed on the university club swim team. She is pursuing her master's degree in counseling from George Washington University, and hopes to maybe one day become a school counselor.
In addition to attending graduate school and coaching 110 Bowie youth swimmers during the summer, Thompson also keeps herself busy teaching AP biology, AP psychology, 10th-grade biology and also working as an assistant counselor while coaching the swim team at Bishop McNamara in Forestville. In her third year at McNamara, Thompson says she has approximately 20 Bowie swimmers on that team, and that is in addition to a winter league she coaches at Fairland in Laurel. With her only real down time coming between Aug. 1 and Sept. 10, Thompson says that she has always had this type of drive to keep busy and to always know what her next move is.
Thompson's BSR team finished in third place in the B Division this summer, but she says that, despite some pretty high expectations, the older swimmers really took a leadership role and helped to keep spirits high throughout the summer. And being one of the younger swim coaches, Thompson thinks that her closeness in age with many of her swimmers is certainly a positive. "It's the approachability," she said. "I'm not put up on a pedestal as much (as other accomplished coaches). I was helping the kids with their math packets this summer. I really like that almost big sister feel that I get from coaching."
With high expectations usually come certain lows. And this summer could have presented exactly that for Thompson and her kids at BSR. Many teams throughout Prince-Mont had to switch to an electronic cardless scoring system for the first time. As part of the A Division last season, BSR was one of the teams selected to test the new scoring system, and that was a blessing as many teams struggled with the new system. Thompson said that "for a lot of teams in the league, it was an interesting transition for them to have to buy the technology and use it at meets and make sure their parents were trained." She also noted that there were no major problems running the system throughout the B Division.
Naturally, having a child who participates in organized sports can sometimes rack up some hefty costs, and Thompson found a way to help subsidize the costs of her McNamara swim/dive team by having a fund raiser at Old Bowie Town Grille Sept. 12. Patrons can either dine in or order carry-out and from those orders, the McNamara team will get a percentage of the revenue. The fund raiser lasts from 4-11 p.m. and will go toward team suits as well as the trip to the national championships later this year at Villanova in Philadelphia.
"I want (the trip to nationals) to be a reward for the swimmers and not something that the parents take on as a financial hardship," said Thompson, who also noted that Old Bowie Town Grille is owned by the Thompson family who are BSR parents and veterans of fund raisers for other local sports teams.
Old Bowie Town Grille is located at 8604 Chestnut Ave. in Old Bowie. For information, call 301-464-8800 or visit www.oldbowietowngrille.com
Thompson is sort of an enigma. She coaches three swim teams, attends grad school and teaches three subjects to high school students while also working as an assistant counselor. While many of her peers are maybe just graduating from a university or still "finding themselves," Thompson has dedicated herself to not only making a good life for herself, but also the lives of the youth that she touches in her coaching and teaching. While there are many who would look at this hectic lifestyle as a burden, Thompson sees the silver lining in it all.
"I could coach for the rest of my life and be super happy with that," said Thompson. "I could teach the rest of my life and really enjoy that. I could also go full-time into counseling and love that." Don't expect her to choose just one anytime soon though.
"I love the balance that each brings."
