All-Area boys’ swimming team
Senior left USA Swimming team to focus on Clippers
Cumberland senior Jay Rossi, left, shown in the breaststroke at the State Meet, leads the boys into the pool as MVP of the All- Area boys’ swimming team.
CUMBERLAND – No one who wore a swim suit and goggles this winter embodied the spirit of team, leadership and dedication more than multi-talented Cumberland High senior Jay Rossi.
The tall, lanky aquaman chose to leave his USA Swimming-affiliated club just days before Thanksgiving so he could focus more on helping his beloved Clippers attain the goals head coach Rod McGarry had set before them prior to the cam- paign.
In an age where club swimming is what most believe will bring them the most attention and, frankly, glory, Rossi’s decision was and is a rarity, but he embraced it – and it more than paid off.
That’s he reason why he has been named the Call/ Times Boys’ Swimming Most Valuable Player.
At the R.I. Championships, held Feb. 25 at Brown University’s Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatic Center, Rossi placed sixth in the 100- yard freestyle with a season-best time of 49.86, then mustered eighth in the 100- yard breaststroke in 1:05.07, the best clocking of his young life.
Earlier in the meet, the 200 medley relay had been disqualified for an apparent, illegal breaststroke kick, but Rossi rallied his troops, and they responded with vigor. Seven events later, he led the 200 freestyle relay to a stunning third in a winter best 1:33.17. And, in his finale as schoolboy, he paced the Clippers to fifth in the 400 freestyle relay (another top clocking of 3:27.32).
Put all that together, and Rossi – with plenty of aid from freshman Ian Horstkamp-Vinekar, sophomore Ian Zito and senior co-captains Connor Hayden and Kevin Connors – propel CHS to sixth overall with 144 points.
“Jay swam out of his mind, there’s no other way to say it,” McGarry stated. “Given the fact he didn’t have as many time drops as we though he would, he still played THE integral role. He really carried us in some of our close (dual) meets, then really amped it up at the Division I and state meets.
“This is a kid who decided to stop swimming (for a club), and chose us,” he added. “He’s facing all of these club swimmers who roll out huge yardage every day, and he was doing 4,000-5,000 with us, just doing the workouts we gave him.
“Like I said, he carried us with such intensity. Jay has a very easy-going, happy-go-lucky personality, and – when you see him on the pool deck in street clothes – you’d think he was going to a party. He’s ever the charmer or politician. But then he gets into the water to race, and he’s an animal. He’s definitely the guy you don’t want to swim against; the kid’s just ferocious.
“I told him before the Division I (championships at Roger Williams University on Feb. 19), ‘You know, Jay, you can really play the role of spoiler today, and boggle some of these club kids’minds. You could really ruin their day,’ and he went out and did.”
During that meet to which McGarry referred, Rossi claimed third in the 100 freestyle (50.55) and third in the 100 breaststroke (1:05.77). Less than a month earlier, at the Read/Watmough Invitational (also at RWU’s natatorium on Jan. 15, he placed ninth in the 50 freestyle (23.67) and the same in the 100 version (53.25).
That’s how much he improved in that sixweek span.
“And he was sick toward the beginning of the season,” McGarry noted. “I was really concerned with how sharp he would be, but he always came to practice prepared, and he busted his butt when he was healthy.
“I think the rest actually helped him,” he continued. “When it comes to his philosophy to give up the club thing, you can’t argue with it. My philosophy as a coach is, ‘If you don’t enjoy it, you’re not going to do well at it.’ He loves high school swimming, and loves to race. I’m sure it took a lot of stress off him, and I believe that’s why he excelled this year.
“You look at the big picture, all the points he scored, his personality on deck and how he affected his teammates, and he’s incredible. He would almost teach the younger, more inexperienced guys how to approach a race, or just calm them down, so he was invaluable.”
Still, Rossi is just one member of this “Premier-11” All-Area contingent. For detailed bios on the rest, read on:
“And he was sick toward the beginning of the season. I was really concerned with how sharp he would be, but he always came to practice prepared, and he busted his butt when he was healthy.” – Cumberland coach Rod McGarry