Boys Swimming: Chan the man at Upper Moreland

Formerly the team’s manager, Upper Moreland’s Jarid Chan has transformed into the Bears’ most rapidly-improving swimmer.
“Last year, he kept saying ‘I’m gonna swim. I’m gonna swim. Next year, Jess, I’m gonna swim,’” coach Jess Healy recalled with gusto. “And he showed up and he’s been working hard. And I think that in the past month that we’ve had meets, he’s dropped seven seconds in the 50 free, which is unheard of — breaking the 30-second mark all the way down to 28 low.
“He works very hard in the pool,” Healy said. “He’s bumped himself up in practice levels. He started at one of our lowest levels and he’s bumped up to the middle right now. So he’s really working hard.”
Chan has been the perfect added ingredient to a team short on numbers but long on determination.
“Last year when I was the manager, everyone on the team was so nice and I had tons of friends on it. They were like, ‘you should join next year.’ I joined, and then it happened,” the senior said.
“It’s the people on the team,” Chan said of what has helped him in his new, expanded role. “They push me to be my best. And they’re always supporting me.
“It’s a family. They’re always supportive. They always have your back.”
Diving right in >> Chan kids that he and water weren’t exactly a great match in middle school.
“It was really hard at first, because I never swam before,” he said of joining the squad. “It was my first time.”
The former baseball player adjusted, and put in the necessary time, and then some.
“Winter training was a different experience but we got through it,” he says with a laugh.
In Wednesday’s nonleague meet with Lansdale Catholic — the Crusaders pulled out an 87-81 win, Chan climbed to a fourth-place finish in the 50-yard freestyle (28.15) and a fifth-place finish in the 100 free (1:04.55).
“In the beginning of the year, I didn’t like the hundred. I liked the 50, but as we kept doing our meets, I liked the 100 more than the 50,” Chan said of carving out his niche.
He always like being around the team. But now, he’s a bigger part of it.
“As manager, I would help the team out, set up, get the times,” he said. “Now, I’m actually in the race. I know how they felt last year. Every meet, I’m always nervous, no matter what. I can’t get over that.
“But when I get on the block, everything just goes away.”
More to come >> Upper Moreland had eight boys come out for the team this year, and Chan has been a very special ninth member.
“I’m hoping that he can work his way into some of the relays,” Healy said. “Because we don’t have a large team, so I’m hoping he can work his way into some of the A relays. He deserves it, and I think he’ll definitely be a help.
“I’m looking for big things because he’s got the heart, he’s got the motivation, and he’s got the commitment that is unmatched. So I think it’s gonna work out.”