By SwimSwam Contributors on SwimSwam
Courtesy: Harold Baker
This is not medical advice. Please consult a doctor if you are experiencing any of the conditions described in this article.
In 52 years of coaching, I thought I had seen everything. Then POTS came into our life. This Story is about Gracie Gregory.
At 14 she was a Top 3-4 Swimmer in the State in almost every Event. At her December taper meet, she won every event. In January at her next Swim Meet, she walked down to the warm-down pool after an event and collapsed on the deck. This was the start of a journey that none of us wanted.
After seeing several Doctors and Specialists, Gracie was told that she had POTS. My 1st question was what is POTS. I had never heard of POTS and had to research it. For two years she was unable to train full-time nor do any of the longer events that were her specialties. I asked several college and USA swim coaches about POTS. To my surprise, several Coaches had POTS kids on their Teams. I found out that between 1 & 3 Million Americans suffer from POTS. Some had milder cases, like Katie Ledecky, and were able to control it. I found that others like the daughter of a Futures referee were in wheelchairs, some even losing their sight for a time period.
For two years, Gracie was not able to train full-time. At meets, we pulled her out after her swims and put her in a wheelchair. The amazing thing to see was how after 20 minutes she was okay and could race again at full speed. An example was at the State High School Meet her Junior Year. She was in a fight for the lead in the 500 Free. With a 100 to go, POTS kicked in. Her last 50 was eight seconds slower and she placed 3rd. We pulled her out and put her in a wheelchair. I told her I was replacing her in the 400 Free Relay as she only had 20 minutes to recover. She said “No, I am swimming”. Ten minutes later she walked down to the warm-down pool, swam a 50 and gave me the thumbs up. She could feel her arms and legs again. I put her on the anchor leg, so as not to delay the meet. The 1st two legs did PRs and Gracie anchored in 51.5. Her best time was 52.8 going into the race. The Team went from 6th in Prelims to being State Champions.
After 2 years without hardly any best times, she found a doctor that decided to go with Saline infusions twice a week. The change was instant. She was able to train full time right away. In six months, we only had one attack while swimming. That was okay because it came after her 1st Junior National cut in the 400 I.M.
At her 1st Juniors, she had an attack in the 400 I.M. and ended up just a few seconds off her best time. The next day she dropped a second in the 200 butterfly. We had made an unusual decision to travel that night to another meet that her teammates were at and swim the 1650. She not only made the 1650 Junior National cut but made the 1000 cut on the way out. After the race, she jumped out and walked away with a big smile on her face. You never know what will happen when talent meets POTS.
If you only get one thing out of this story, let it be to not let your swimmer quit. You can beat POTS. Gracie showed us that with her toughness and ability to not let POTS win no matter what comes her way. The fact that she works about as hard as any swimmer that I have ever coached and has a great feel for the water always gave us hope. Her family decided to take a gap year to further recover and give her a chance to reach a new level. She now has 3 New Junior National Swims in the last six weeks.
College swimming has turned out to be a bigger challenge. Several school where Gracie would have been one of their best swimmers in several events have not shown interest. Some are close by and obviously afraid of the situation.
A Big Ten school had Gracie and her Mother fly in for a visit. The staff was great and appreciated that we all were so open about the POTS situation. The Coaching Staff implied that she would have a spot if the medical staff approved the situation. A few days later the Athletic Trainer called and said that they could not offer her a spot. The trainer said that she doubted that any NCAA school would accept her because of the POTS. 1st off, there are an estimated 2,000 NCAA athletes with POTS. Secondly, do you really think any school would turn Katie Ledecky down because of POTS. It was very depressing.
We are back to square one in relation to college swimming. If any Coach or Parent wants to talk to the Gregory Family or myself about POTS feel free to reach out to us. If anyone is interested in Gracie as a Swimmer, please reach out to [email protected].
Gracie wrote a great article in the Lafayette Ledger, her high school news paper, about POTS and the effect on her body.
Harold Baker – Head Coach
Williamsburg Aquatic Club
Read the full story on SwimSwam: POTS – A Junior National Swimmer without a Collegiate Home
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