Army West Point Feature Friday: The Sembranos

Army West Point’s Feature Friday highlights the tremendous personal stories our coaches and cadet-athletes have to share on a weekly basis. Each Friday, a new feature story will be prominently highlighted on GoArmyWestPoint.com. The features will include multi-media pieces, as well as written stories by media outlets and the Army West Point athletic communications staff. Thanks to Ally Keirn for contributing this story.

Sports matter. You can’t fathom how much sports matter until you have to lean on them to get you through tough times. Sports develop more than just skills and discipline; sports develop character, friendships, families and lifestyles.

Swimming is the sport that matters to the Sembrano family. It bonded them together in the best of times and kept them moving forward during the worst of times.

With a father that was both dad and coach and a mother who was a constant cheerleader and support beam, Kim Sembrano and Josh Sembrano have seen swimming as a family affair since they were nine and 10 years old.

The two confessed that their father pushed them into swimming, but reflecting on their time in the sport, they have developed a full appreciation for it.

“Even though sometimes it was annoying and we sometimes had thoughts of leaving the sport, once we matured, we understood how important it was to us and how it developed us into better people,” Kim stated.

“There’s no way I could be where I am today without my dad,” Josh reflects. “Like in every sport, there are times when you want to quit and have a normal childhood and hang out with friends, but he made sure I knew what the right priorities were.”

Josh and Kim could never know that sticking with swimming would one day help them through one of the toughest moments of their lives.

Just a few months into Josh’s plebe year at the United States Military Academy, the family’s world was turned upside down by news that would impact them forever. On Oct. 28, 2014, Ruth Sembrano, mother of Josh, Kim and younger sister, Rebecca, passed away suddenly.

“I remember Josh called me during the week and asked if he could go home because his mom was sick,” said Army head coach Mickey Wender. “Then I received a call from him over the weekend telling me that she had passed. It was sudden and shocking. Nobody had any idea that this was coming.”

The team was there to support Josh and the family when they needed it. This, above all, was important to Wender, who also lost his mother at a young age.

“As a team, we are a family,” commented Wender. “We just try to be there for each other and support each other. We wanted to be there for the Sembranos through that. The team was there to support Josh and the family when they needed it.”

The full roster of the Army West Point swimming and diving team made their way to Northern New Jersey for the wake. And, even though Josh was the only Sembrano that was a member of the team at that point, he wasn’t the only one affected by the team’s support.

“The first time I met the whole team was actually at my mother’s wake,” admitted Kim. “I was surprised that every single one of them came. When I first saw them, that’s when it hit me that it was just the type of team that Army is.”

“I didn’t even know it yet,” expressed Josh. “Honestly, I knew the team for less than a month, but still they all showed up.”

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Wender knew right away that he wanted Josh on his swimming team. He was a year ahead of Kim in school and had shown interest in the Academy, but wasn’t sure until meeting with Wender after the Junior Nationals meet in Irvine, Calif.

“To this day I remember watching Josh swim and thinking this is a kid that I want on our team,” Wender said. “I met with him after the Junior Nationals meet by the bleachers and I just remember how proud his parents were and tears welling up in their eyes as I offered him a spot.”

It was much the same for Josh.

“It was my family and I standing talking to Coach Wender after the meet when I looked him square in the eye and said, ‘Coach, I want to go to your school. If you can offer me a spot I will take it.’ He looked right back at me and asked, ‘Are you sure about this?’ and I responded, ‘Yes, 100 percent.'”

Wender’s interest in Kim grew throughout the process, but her eye was on other schools.

“I knew Coach Wender was a great coach because I saw what he did when we would attend meets, but the first time he approached me about coming here, I was not interested,” said Kim.

Both Kim and Josh had moments of doubt about West Point, but the assurance from the Army swimming and diving family made the two realize that the United States Military Academy was the right place for them.

“The opportunities at West Point, you can’t find anywhere else,” stated Josh. “My parents were obsessed with West Point, they are from the Philippines so West Point had a huge impact on how they lived and how the country is now. I knew that I would have a secure future and would be able to swim under Coach Wender so it was a big deal to me.”

Although Kim wasn’t interested at first, the passing of their mother was a turning point in her recruiting process. She attended an official visit at West Point with the swimming and diving team in December of her senior year, and by April was convinced that it was the place she needed to be.

“I said no at first and Coach Wender understood, but when I came back saying yes he had open arms,” Kim explained. “He helped with the whole process. I am just so happy that it all worked out honestly. The other schools that I looked at, I had to compromise either my education or swimming. They were on the opposite ends of the spectrum of West Point. Coming here I had everything that I wanted.”

As for Josh, the team’s attendance at their mother’s wake is what fueled him to keep going.

“Last year, being at West Point as a plebe was really hard,” confessed Josh. “There were times where I wanted to stop. But after what the team did for me by coming to the wake and showing their support and everyone on the team being so nice and supportive to me during this tough time, I knew that I owed them something.

“They did all this for me and I knew I could do this small thing for them. I could do what I came here to do. That act in October made me want to stay at West Point. Honestly, whenever times get tough, I’ll look back to plebe year or my mom’s wake and think this is nothing compared to that time.”

Fast forward to the fall of 2015 and Josh and Kim both attend the Academy. Josh holds Academy and plebe records, while Kim is rapidly improving her times and ranks in Army’s All-Time Top 10 list.

Although their mother’s passing happened over a year ago, the support of the team continues to propel them forward.

“Transitioning into BEAST and plebe year was terrible for me,” Kim recalled. “I was always tired with a full schedule where I was going back and forth and felt like I didn’t have a place to sit. I would start thinking about her when things got hard and then I would get upset.

“When you come to the pool and are upset, everyone says hi to you, smiles at you and makes jokes so it is hard to remain upset. So it is the swim team that enables me to stay here. I know that I can last here and have a positive attitude about it because of them.”

Josh continues to lean on the team to help push him forward.

“After everything happened, I was at a point where I knew I could just stay in bed or go back home and not do anything, forget school and just focus on myself,” Josh said. “But the team really helped push me forward. I had nowhere left to go, just forward. The team made sure I knew that whether they did it on purpose or not.

“Understanding that I knew I had to move forward. It’s okay to miss mom, but I know the team needs me and that my spot is very important. It forces me to go forward. I know I need to swim, and that I need to do the things that are expected of me.”

And now that the two are on the team together, they can lean on each other.

“The first couple weeks of plebe year were a little tough on both of us,” commented Josh. “I just wanted to make sure she was okay, but she wanted me to leave her alone. I try my best and help her with swimming and getting used to the program, stuff I wished someone had told me.”

Experiencing hardships throughout the process of attending the U.S. Military Academy and supporting each other through it has enabled them to grow their relationship and become closer.

“I would say we are a lot closer,” Josh said with a big smile. “We were really close growing up, but now we are very close. I have my tough days and it’s easier to talk to Kim more than anyone else here.”

Even though swimming only takes up a fraction of their time, it has impacted the Sembranos indefinitely. It’s is one of the things that has kept the family glued together.

“When dad was our coach there was always somebody there, and now that we are away from him, we have each other,” Kim stated while hugging her big brother. “Now we rely on each other.

Josh and Kim as children

Josh and Kim as Cadets

Swimming news courtesy of Army Swimming & Diving.