Bollerman's making a splash

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Bollerman's making a splash

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Overcoming obstacles is nothing new for Bollerman. Especially in a

swimming pool.

The 15-year-old swimmer from Ridgefield did it again a couple of weeks ago

at the Speedo Championship Series Eastern Zone Sectionals at Penn State

University where he qualified for the Junior Nationals in Orlando, Fla.,

next March.

Not bad for someone who started swimming seriously less than three years

ago.

It's not like he was a stranger to water, though. Growing up, Bollerman swam

every summer in the local recreational league and showed some ability at a

young age. But swimming year-round was far from his mind. He was too busy

playing soccer, lacrosse and basketball.

In sixth grade, Bollerman came face to face with his first obstacle. He was

diagnosed with spondylosis, a form of juvenile arthritis that causes pain in

his joints and lower back.

" It's in the spine and it really affected my hips, knees and ankles, " he

explained.

The chronic pain forced him to give up impact sports. But there was still

one sport he could do virtually pain free.

" Swimming was the last sport I could still do and it just clicked for me, "

he said.

Bollerman began swimming year-round with the Ridgefield Aquatic Club and

improved dramatically. Less than a year later, a 13-year-old Bollerman won

the Connecticut state championship in the 200-meter breaststroke in the

13/14-year-old age group.

Not again

By his second year, however, Bollerman began experiencing some pain again,

but this time unrelated to his arthritis. Instead, he had a case of Osgood

Schlatter's disease, an inflammation of the bone at the growth plate about

two inches below the kneecap where the tendon attaches. It's a common

problem in children, caused by the rapid growth that occurs in early

adolescence.

Bollerman once again turned a negative into a positive, focusing on other

strokes that had less impact on his knees than the breaststroke. This made

him a better all-around swimmer.

The breaststroke remained his signature event and he continued to show

steady improvement leading up to this year's Eastern Zone sectionals. But he

never expected to qualify for junior nationals.

" There were time standards you had to meet to qualify for nationals and I

had to do a 2:29.7 in the 200 breaststroke to make it, " he said. " I came

into the meet with a 2:33. That was my previous best time (which he achieved

two weeks earlier at the Senior State meet). I didn't think I could go much

faster. "

He was wrong. Bollerman turned in a time of 2:29.1 to finish seventh out of

approximately 50 swimmers in the 15-19 age group.

" That time was just ridiculous, " he said. " I thought I was doing real well

during the race and that I'd be right on my best time. But I didn't think I

would come in four seconds under. "

Bollerman knows exactly how Lezak of the U.S. Olympic team felt when

he touched the wall and looked up at the clock after swimming the anchor leg

on the historic 4x100 free relay Sunday night.

" It was similar to how I felt when I touched the wall and then looked up at

the clock to see my time - I didn't believe it, " he said. " As I was getting

ready before my event, I'm watching other kids come out of the pool who

qualified and I said to myself 'I want to be there.'

" But then when it finally happens, it's a whole 'nother experience. It's

unreal. "

Even more impressive was that, with the sectional meet's open age category,

Bollerman was competing against swimmers two, three and even four years

older, many of them college swimmers.

But it was just another obstacle for him to overcome.

" I'm pretty easy to intimidate, " he said with a laugh. " I was in lane seven

so everyone else was to my right. Right before the finals I looked to my

right and I thought, 'Oh, my God, these kids are so big.'

" But once I get in the water, that's what fuels me. I thrive on that. "

So much so that with his time of 2:29.1, Bollerman is now the 13th-ranked

15-year-old in the nation in the 200-meter breaststroke.

And prior to the Senior State meet in July, Bollerman's best time was 2:36,

meaning he shaved seven seconds off in a few weeks.

Bollerman just missed qualifying for junior nationals in the 100

breaststroke earlier in the week, while also competing in the 400 individual

medley.

" You had to swim a 1:10.11 in the 100 breast to qualify and I did a 1:10.6, "

he said. " I just missed that cut so that was a little disappointing. "

Of course, he more than made up for that later in the week with his stellar

performance in the 200 breaststroke. The first person he celebrated with

after the race was Bob Shearer, his coach with the Ridgefield Aquatic Club.

" He's helped me a lot with my swimming career, " said Bollerman, the youngest

of Steve and Bollerman's four children. " I was very discouraged when I

was going through my injuries, but he kept me going and I kept improving. "

Shearer and his staff also deserve credit for working with a swimmer who

didn't start training year-round until he was a teenager, a commitment many

coaches wouldn't have made.

" I didn't start swimming until seventh grade, " Bollerman said. " A lot of

people say swimmers have to start early, but it didn't work that way for

me. "

Did someone say obstacles?

Bollerman hasn't slowed down much since the sectionals. Right after that

meet, he won the state championship in the 100-meter breaststroke at the

Connecticut State Age Group Championships, again in the 15-19 age category,

with a time of 1:10. He also finished third in the 200 breaststroke.

High school team

He hopes to carry the momentum he's built over the summer into his swim

season at Ridgefield High School, where he's getting ready to start his

sophomore year. As a freshman last year, he was named All-FCIAC and

qualified for the State Open in both the 200 IM and 500 freestyle.

" High school season is the thing I love the most, " he said. " I love to swim

for a team. I love the relays and all that. That's not typical of

USA-sanctioned swim meets. You're mostly swimming for yourself. You're

trying to build up the score for your team, but mostly it's individual.

" Before I started swimming in high school, I didn't do as well as I hoped in

the breaststroke. But this summer the 100 breast was one of those events

that just exploded for me. Now I feel confident going into the high school

season. "

And, he has the Junior Nationals in Orlando to look forward to, right after

the high school season in March.

" I'm just going to try to soak up the experience, " he said. " It's my first

time there and I'm excited to be there. Obviously I'm going to swim as fast

as I can and swim to the best of my ability. "

You wouldn't expect anything less from Bollerman. After all, it's just

one more obstacle he has to overcome.