Reflections of a Gator by TJ Heck

It’s hard to believe that after 13 years, I’m here writing my farewell address. Over the last years, no matter how crazy the year was, the one thing that remained constant would be summer swim. My parents were let off the waitlist when I was 2 years old, and since then I’ve spent ample amounts of time in every part of the park. A few years later, at the innocent age of 5, my parents registered me and my sister for the gators. What did all that mean to me at that age? Countless runs on the hill, red light green light, and my tactile defensiveness surfacing from the sticky dew on the grass. This prevented me from showcasing my lack of experience and manifested by my being last in the pool because “my feet were too dirty.”

My earliest memory of being a gator would be a B meet in 2008 or 2009. Now, at the time I was not aware it was a B meet. After seeing Mr. Fulgum and other dads setting up the tent, I knew my mom had fabricated her words to not set me off. Well, it didn’t work. As I pieced the situation together, I immediately began to throw a tantrum and cry all the water out of my body, pleading, begging, my mom to not do this to me. In the end, I swam and it’s all a blur now. 

My experience being a gator was much more than dirty feet and being last in the lane. Over the course of my Gator career I have created some of the most rewarding memories to this day. My two highlights being placing 3rd and 5th at All Star Relays in 2015 & 2017 respectively. Besides those, I am thankful for experiencing the gross sweaty B meet afternoons, the too early to function morning A meets, and the pep rallies on Friday mornings. 

Last summer while I was walking out after giving a few lessons, Eddie and I were having a conversation, and he told me that when he was my age, “this was the place to be.” I didn’t think anything of it at the time but as I’m now writing this, it makes sense. I believe that the park itself but furthermore the Gators has not lost it’s element in all the years the team has been active. The park and the Gators have facilitated a different kind of growth for me both in and out of the water, one that I would not be able to achieve anywhere else. I’m so grateful for the opportunities I’ve received and the experiences I’ve lived through since being a little gator. 

To close I’d like to thank the Bolgers, the Phalens, and Rose and Jamey for making summer swim nothing less of an incredible experience throughout my childhood. To Kellee Brotherton, Kelli Makin, Emily Bayer, Laurel Greszler, and Paul Makin thank you for investing your time into this team and especially in me. To past gators who may read this, thank you for showing me what being a gator is all about and encouraging me to do my best. To my graduating senior gators, it’s been great to grow up with you all. For the younger gators, keep working hard and being kind to one another. 

Once a gator, always a gator.