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She only has one thought as she stands at the edge staring down at her reflection in the water, “I really don’t want to get in today. Why do I keep doing this to myself?” She then looks at the clock and realizes she is leaving on the top. It’s 6:00 AM and after she plunges into the freezing cold water, her eyes widen, and she now feels alive. Yes, one does have to be a little insane to go through this process day in and day out, but the memories of her years in the water with her best friends, the countless meets, and the thousands of yards swam are worth while when she reaches the goals she’s worked so hard to achieve.
Swimmers know all too well the pain and suffering that goes along with being the best in the water. To others, the physical torment and personal sacrifices may not seem worth it, but the feeling of overwhelming joy, happiness, and sense of accomplishment when you drop less than a second to achieve that qualifying time is like nothing else.
Here in Moon Township, the Moon Aqua Club is working hard to build a legacy in which its athletes enjoy this seemingly insane sport. If you see the team in action you will get a glimpse into the type of dedication and passion they have for what they do. The success of this team has not been an overnight feat nor is their work done. Everyday with their goals in the back of their minds, they continue to push themselves and strive to achieve what they have set out to do. Build a community of champions, one swimmer at a time.
The Moon Area has a long standing tradition of greatness in the swimming arena. Moon has won several WPIAL and PIAA Championships. Additionally, Moon has churned out countless colligate swimmers and sent many swimmers on to compete at the national and international stage. Moon has even produced a few elite swimmers that have qualified for the Olympic Trials. However, in recent years Moon has fallen off the swimming radar with the departure of their long-time esteemed head coach. Now they have a new head coach. Zac Gebhardt took the reins as head coach in 2010 and with much dedication has been rebuilding the Moon Aqua Club. In addition to serving as the Moon Aqua Club head coach, Coach Zac is also the Moon Area High School Varsity and Middle School head coach. In the few short years as head coach of the aqua club, he has been able to accomplish many amazing things.
For the past five years, Coach Zac has doubled the Moon Aqua Club’s membership and has built up the team not only from a performance standpoint but also from a business aspect. Both of which are equally important to the success of the athletes. It is Coach Zac’s belief that you must first instill values and principles into the athletes and then continue to nurture them through their perceived failures and successes. This has been a key factor in order to change the culture to foster a successful team. Not only does Coach Zac focus on educating the athlete but also the parents so they are able to work together as a team to provide the best atmosphere for the athletes. While the rebuild of a team can be a long and sometimes slow process, change within the team and how it operates can be seen. This has been made possible through the hard work of Coach Zac and the enormous support he’s received throughout the years from the families in the Moon Area. With Coach Zac behind the wheel and the families supporting and believing in the program the Moon Aqua Club has a solid foundation for a long lasting legacy.
The support behind Moon Aqua Club’s goals and values has caused great things to happen and since 2010 the team has blossomed. Swimmers who started out on the Moon Aqua Club team have gone on to swim for the Moon Area Middle School team and high school Varsity team. This past year the girls Middle School team went undefeated in their dual meet season and placed first in the End-Of-Season Invitational meet. Many Moon Aqua Club swimmers on the Moon Area High School Varsity team have qualified for the WPIAL Championships and went on to the PIAA Championships.
One swimmer in particular, Madison Olander, has proven that perseverance can lead to great things, Madison has been swimming for the Moon Aqua Club well before Coach Zac was the head coach but now he has been able to set Madison on a path to success. She was always a freestyler but Coach Zac saw her potential in becoming a distance swimmer. After two years of hard work, Madison qualified for WPIALS in the 500 free and earned a spot on a PIAA relay in 2012. After her time with Moon, Madison went on to swim at Ashland University. This is only one of the many success stories that have come out of the transformation of the Moon Aqua Club.
This past season Moon Aqua Club swimmers have achieved some impressive goals. The team placed 7th in the AMS Age Group Championships. Also at the Summer AMS Championships one swimmer, Inde Patterson, reached new heights. She qualified for the Eastern Zones Championships in every event she swam and received the High Point Award for the girls 11-12 year old age group. Also, this season the Moon Aqua Club sent seven swimmers to the Eastern Zones Championship, an All-Star meet that includes teams from most of the Eastern Seaboard. The swimmers that qualified for this prestigious meet include Leah Baker, Riley Connelly, Emma Connors, Jenn DiVito, Mikel Flatley, Macrae Haluszczak, and Inde Patterson. Moon Aqua Club even had two swimmers qualify for the Speedo Super Sectional Meet, a meet that is reserved for the best of the best in high school and college. The two girls that qualified for this meet, Leah Baker and Macrae Haluszczak, were in eighth grade.
The team is looking into the future with greater goals in mind. The potential on this team is such that Coach Zac sees many of his athletes qualifying for WPIALS and the PIAA Championships this year. He is also confident that a few long time Varsity records will be broken. Since the majority of the Varsity swimmers are also on the Moon Aqua Club, they train year round and with that is ample opportunity to compete against the best in the WPIAL. This allows the swimmers to see what it takes to compete and win at meets of this stature. With many of them now going into high school, the team is in a strong position when it comes to the WPIAL Championships and the type of results the team will produce. It has been a long time since Moon has seen such a bright future in swimming but it is certainly one not to miss.
With the achievements up until this point and optimism for what’s ahead, the Moon Aqua Club is always looking for eager young athletes to join the team. The team is in need of 9-12 year olds to help shape and build this legacy forged over the past five years. Coach Zac said, “The key to our continued success is the growth of our novice (age group) swimmers. We need young children to teach and grow into our greatest athletes. The best athletes weren’t made over night; our athletes spend years learning and training in order to reach the top.” The Moon Aqua Club offers this opportunity. It is not only a competitive swim team but also a place for an athlete to have fun. Moon Aqua Club also offers a ‘learn to swim program’ that teaches children how to swim and about water safety. Through such a vast swimming curriculum starting from a very young age and continuing through middle and high school, the Moon Aqua Club is a sustainable swim team that will be a cornerstone of the Moon Township community and continue to send athletes to the highest levels of the swimming world.
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