CAMAS — Jonathan Foster moved from California last summer, expecting to pick up his athletic activities at Prairie High School.
One problem, though.
“I found out there was no swimming, no water polo,” Foster said. “Huh?”
Well, there might not be any plans for a water polo team but there is a Prairie swimming team now — a team of one. Foster, a junior, is one of 21 athletes from five different schools who train and compete alongside the Camas swim team. At meets, they are all one big happy squad. But by the time of district competition to qualify for state, the athletes represent their own schools.
In the pool every day for coach Mike Bemis are 38 athletes from Camas, 14 from Hockinson, three from Washougal, two from Battle Ground, and one each from Prairie and Woodland.’
In previous years, the team that competed and practiced with Camas was known as North County, with swimmers from Hockinson and Battle Ground.
Now, the program spans the entire county, and even crosses the county line a bit.
They all have their stories, what drew them to swimming, what drew the non-Camas athletes to pay extra to be a part of the squad.
• You’ve got the California transplant who needed a place to swim.
• There’s the Battle Ground team that was started a few years back almost on a dare.
• And then there is the home-schooled athlete from Woodland who wanted to be part of a team.
They’re all welcome at LaCamas Swim and Sport, training site for the Camas Papermakers and friends.
“The more I get, the better,” Bemis said. “It’s easier to coach 100 than it is to coach one.”
This is Bemis’ seventh season coaching the Camas boys. He just concluded his sixth season as the girls coach. For the first time in his tenure, there are more Camas boys (38) out for swimming than there were Camas girls (35) in the fall.
Add the 21 others, that makes for 59 swimmers in the pool daily.
The Hockinson swimmers practice in the mornings, except on Wednesdays when all 59 are in the pool at the same time.
Bemis theorizes that because there are more swimmers competing at the club level, the clubs fuel the desire for high school competition.
Neil Markuson, a senior from Battle Ground, is in his third year with the team. He and former Tigers Sam Schultz and Travis Bickford are the founding athletes of the Battle Ground program.
“It started as a joke. ‘Let’s get a swim team.’ It turned into something real,” Markuson said. “We just thought it would be cool.”
Cole Burpee, a junior, joined Markuson last season.
“I’ve been friends with him for a while. He said they have a lot of fun, so I decided to do it,’ Burpee said.
“We made him join,” Markuson explained.
Non-Camas athletes pay $400 to be a part of the swim team, but it is clear when talking to the athletes that the experience is worth the cost.
“It’s really fun. It’s probably more fun than any other sport,” Burpee said. “We joke and say it’s the only real sport …”
Markuson completed the thought: “Everything else is just a game.”
Markuson usually is the driver from Battle Ground. He and Burpee pick up Foster on the way to Camas for practice. All pitch in for gas money.
Josh Risley, a sophomore from Woodland, has the longest trek.
But he described his days just like that of any other athlete on the team once he gets to the pool.
“I’m home-schooled. I’m done by about 1 p.m. and leave by 1:30. I get here and do whatever the coach tells me to do,” he said.
Risley swims for the Columbia River Swim Team — the club, not the high school — and just wanted to get the team experience for high school. He is the lone representative from Woodland, but during practices, he is a part of a large team.
“It helps that you’re not the only one,” Risley said. “You have other people to build you up. It helps you strive for your goals, to keep pushing for them.
“I just love it.”
Foster, who moved to Clark County from Tustin, Calif., is grateful for the opportunity, even if he could not believe that Prairie did not have a swim team.
“It’s just kind of stupid that I’m the first guy, but I feel proud if I’m about to start a legacy,” Foster said.
Actually, there was a Prairie swimmer about eight years ago. Foster, though, hopes he is not the first and last in a while. He said there is a younger Falcon who wants to swim but has to wait until next year when he gets his driver’s license.
While it is not the perfect set-up, Foster said swimming this winter is a lot better than what he was doing this summer, when his family moved. In California, he would have been preparing for water polo and swimming all summer long.
“I was just playing video games. It’s fun, but it’s not active,” he said.
Foster found a swim team and is plenty active now.
There is another benefit to this quirky system. A new student to the area, Foster has quickly met a lot of friends from several schools.
They’re all welcome in Camas. The only requirement is a dedication to swimming.
