BED OF WATER: AREA SWIMMERS SET ALARMS FOR MORNING WORKOUTS

Lindsay Kuper doesn't think she'll get a scholarship.

But if she doesn't, it won't be for a lack of trying. A lack of sleep ... maybe.

Terra Herzberger is a self-described evening person. If she could only allow herself to sleep until late morning like most of her friends.

And Zach Statler, he's too worn out most days to stay awake summer afternoons.

Yes, there's just something in the water.

Something that makes Kuper, Herzberger, Statler and scores of other area athletes drag themselves to the pool at 6:45 a.m. six days a week.

While most think of the swimming pool as a recreational tool, swimming isn't just fun and games to many in the area. It's a serious sport that requires serious dedication.

Popular sport

More than 130 youths ages 4 to 17 participate in competitive summer swimming programs in Jackson and Cape Girardeau.

Cape has the Gators and Jackson has the Barracudas.

In all, nine Southeast Missouri cities sponsor AAU swim teams. They include Scott City, Sikeston, Charleston, Kennett, Poplar Bluff, Perryville, Farmington, Perryville and Ste. Genevieve.

The Gators team, unlike the others, is sanctioned by USA Swimming. All the USA team members compete in AAU competition during the summer, but some also compete year around and compete in meets in places like Indiana, Oklahoma and St. Louis among others. USA Swimming, Gators coach Jason Cravens said, is the top swimming organization in the country as national and Olympic swimmers emerge from this elite pool of swimmers.

The sacrifices

It's been said that swimming is the best total-body workout of any exercise and many believe it's the most grueling sport on the planet.

And to be good at it, really good, it requires a lot of training and sacrifices.

Sacrifices like sleep.

The swimming teams practice so early because it's the only time the pools they use are available. Most practices go until 9 a.m.

"Actually, I don't think you ever get used to waking up early," said Herzberger, 17, who will be a senior at Cape Central High next year. "But when I get in the water, it kind of wakes me up and I get energized."

Herzberger grew up as a track athlete. A friend talked her into trying swimming. Herzberger said she'd give it two weeks and if she didn't like it, she'd quit and still be ready for the start of track season. But two weeks was all she needed.

"I love it," she said. "My parents always thought I'd be a good swimmer, but when I was younger I was too shy. I wonder what would've happened if I got into it earlier."

Kuper dove into the sport at an early age. The Kuper family has a lot of interest in the sport. Lenny Kuper is Notre Dame's swimming coach, but Lindsay, 17, has found swimming therapeutic in a number of ways. She started at age 7.

"I had a heart murmur and the doctor said that (swimming) was the best thing for it," she said. "It's gotten a lot better. He can hardly hear it anymore."

Kuper said she's gotten used to the schedule, "it's just part of my life now," she said. Swimming "is kind of like a drug. You just get addicted to it."

Cravens said everybody is working hard at this point, but workouts will increase heavily this fall.

"Right now, we work out six times a week, but we'll get up to 11 workouts a week," he said.

Setting goals, examples

Statler, 14, of Jackson is as serious about swimming as anyone in the area.

Not only does he do the early-morning routine as part of the Barracudas AAU team and compete with the Gators' USA Swimming team year-around, he's also involved in teaching his craft.

He helps with the younger children as a part-time job.

"When the younger ones come in, some know how to swim and some don't," he said. "I had two kids come in who couldn't swim and my job was to get them caught up with the rest of the group. And I did."

Statler hopes to gain a scholarship in the future. His immediate goal is to break the Ozark Swimming record in the 200 butterfly for the 13-14 year-old group.

"Records mean a lot when you're going for scholarships," he said.

Statler started at a young age, when he was about 4. He plays a variety of sports including baseball, soccer and bowling. At one time or another he's tried wrestling, football and boy scouts.

As a starting catcher in Jackson's Junior Babe Ruth League, he'll sometimes he'll skip a swimming meet for a baseball game, but swimming has always been his favorite sport.

Swimmers relate

Given the price the more serious swimmers pay, Cravens made a good impression even before he met his pupils.

Cravens recently moved here from South Florida to become the Gators head coach, a sacrifice that no doubt impressed some.

"If you're going to make the commitment to move and change your life to do this, I know it's a good thing," Herzberger said.

Cravens, 26, has been the Gators coach since April. He's certified to Level 3 (out of five levels) by the American Swimming Coaches Association.

Cravens said he hopes to give more than swimming lessons and teach more than technique. His goal is to give "children something they can keep for the rest of their lives. Swimming is my love, but coaching is my passion."