When Jeremy Fuller’s son, Braden, then an eighth-grader, expressed his concern about not getting enough pitches to hit on the baseball field, he suggested swimming.
Those associated with the Lakota East High School swimming program are thankful for Don Fuller’s and now Jeremy Fuller’s fatherly advice.
Braden Fuller called swimming in high school “a family tradition.”
A senior at Lakota East, Fuller is one of the most decorated swimmers in program history. He has qualified for the state championships his first three seasons and is expected to return this year after competing at the districts this weekend at Miami University.
He has the fastest time in the 100 butterfly in the Greater Miami Conference, and he’s the second fastest swimmer in the 50 freestyle.
His time in the 50 freestyle has lowered every year in high school, going from 23.78 as a freshman to 22.73 as a sophomore to 21.76 as a junior to 21.13 this season.
Fuller said he’s mentally and physically stronger. The 5-foot-9, 150-pound freshman is now a 6-0, 175-pound senior.
Fuller played baseball until he was a high school freshman. He traded in his baseball glove for swimming trunks. Instead of worrying about the score of the game, his sports world revolves around time.
Or as he said: “Who can touch the wall first. I just want to go as fast as I can go.”
Unlike team sports, swimming is all about athlete vs. the water. You can’t blame your coaches or the refs.
“Your time is your time,” Jeremy Fuller said. “There are no politics.”
He speaks from experience. He qualified for the state swimming meet at Anderson High School, then competed one season on the University of Cincinnati swim team.
He hopes his son gets one more chance to swim at the state championships at the end of this month in Canton.
His father died last year, and he remembers swimming in the state championships with his father in the stands.
Now he hopes to be sitting in the same stands where his father sat. Be a father cheering for his son.
“Watching him swim makes me more nervous than I ever felt on my own,” Fuller said. “Now watching Braden is the coolest thing...”
His voice trailed off.
“I bet you never expected a tear jerker,” he said.
He paused, then added: “If he swims at state, it will connect three generations there.”
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The Journal-News will profile a local high school athlete on Sundays. If you have a suggestion, please forward the athlete’s name and high school to Rick McCrabb at rmccrabb1@gmail.com.
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