The Falfins program’s two-year-old team at Woodmen Hills Recreation Center is now 20 swimmers strong. The regional organization’s expansion into Falcon lets parents, kids and volunteers participate in their favorite competitive sport without commuting to Colorado Springs. Year-round competitive swimming and training is available for ages 6 and older.Falfins, the ‘Fal’ of which refers to the U.S. Air Force Academy Falcons, rather than the community, started as a program for service members and their families, said Dana Kelley, manager of the program. The program has 160 kids throughout the region. The program will be aligning with Colorado Springs Aquatics, which will give kids the ability to be part of larger swim meets and events, Kelley said.At the Rampart High School and Wolf Ranch locations, the six age levels practice separately. The Woodmen Hills team is able to use the four lanes the organization rents from the recreation center to have all age groups swim at the same time, Kelley said. Dana Kelley’s daughter Makenzie Kelley, age 8, also swims on the Woodmen Hills team. ìI like that it’s fun and we work hard so we can compete and win,î Makenzie said while at a practice in October.Coach Rob Shaw said the Falcon team and the swimmers have improved dramatically since it started. ìThis year is more competitive than the last few years, simply because it takes a couple years to build a program,î Shaw said. ìWe started last August with just one swimmer, and it’s slowly built three or four at a time.îFalfins gives high school age kids the opportunity to competitively swim. Falcon School District 49 had a swimming team at Vista Ridge High School, which has since folded, Shaw said. ìYou now have a choice in District 20 or District 11,î he said. ìWe’d like to have more high school kids in our program.îClaudia Bagley, a freshman at Falcon High School, joined Falfins since FHS does not have a swim team. ìI think a lot of students would be interested in joining a swim team,î Bagley said. ìMe and another high schooler who’s on this team have been talking to other students about joining here.îEric Kyleís daughter Alison was one of the first on the team. Alison tried other sports but chose swimming because of an engaging experience she had. ìWe followed Alison’s lead,î Kyle said. ìEarly on she had a coach who helped her and took an interest in her. We thought we moved past the individual one-on-one training with lifeguards, and decided to look into competitive teams. We found Falfins, which was highly recommended to us, and Coach Rob decided to expand it to out here.îAlison is a sixth grader who is homeschooled. ìI like that it’s a small team, and I’ve made friends with all the other team members,î Alison said. ìI’ve always liked the water. My goal is to swim through college and break records!î Shaw said Alison was able to take a top-four finish in her first competitive meet. The program has helped many swimmers earn college scholarships to swim in NCAA programs including Stanford and the USAFA, Shaw said.ìI’m giving back to what competitive swimming was to me,î he said. ìI was a competitive swimmer and know how important that was to me. My own coach, who is still coaching, developed a love for the sport that I want to give back to the sport through my time.îVolunteer coaches and swim officials are always welcome, even if they don’t have children in the program. Volunteers must pass background checks and attend athlete protection training.The program has advertised mostly by word of mouth and roadside signs, Kelley said. Families can join the program at any point during the year. The Woodmen Hills team does not offer basic swimming lessons, so swimmers must show they can swim two lengths of the pool using a freestyle stroke and backstroke. Families interested in having their child join the program can visit the team’s website at http://falfins.org or call 719-963-8355.
