MAILBOX

Swimming World Magazine, Mar 2006 by Lock, Frank

Letters-To-The-Editor

THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES

The story on Rowdy Games (SW Dec) brought back one of my fondest memories as a high school and club swimming coach. In the winter of 1989,1 received a message to call "Mr. Gaines." I had a student in one of my classes whose last name was Gaines, so I naturally assumed the message referred to her father.

When I returned the call, "Mr. Gaines" indicated that he was "Rowdy Gaines." He said he was coming to our town to visit his parents and wondered if he could train with us. Naturally, I thought one of my friends was trying to "set me up."

But when Rowdy arrived at the pool, I discovered that he was the most cordial celebrity 1 had ever met. We gave him a lane, and as he trained, he would periodically ask a swimmer to come over and join him. He also posed for pictures with our swimmers. To this day, I still refer to that lane as the Rowdy Gaines Lane.

Rowdy is a true icon of our sport, and I'll always remember how much fun we had that day.

-FRANK LOCK