Siblings swim, win together
Published 12:00 am Friday, July 29, 2005
Kenny and Dallas Harrison weren't interested in swimming until their grandmother said they needed to join the Greenville Tigershark swim team.
"Grandmother basically made us get in swimming to lose weight and meet different people," explained 15-year-old Kenny Harrison.
Now, you can't get the two brothers out of the pool.
When you talk to them about who is better, that turns into an instant verbal sparring match.
Kenny Harrison gleams over the fact that he's better than his brother in the backstroke and the breaststroke, but admits that Dallas is the better swimmer in the freestyle and butterfly.
Of course that was after the two argued for about 30 seconds as to who was the better swimmer in the backstroke.
Typical sibling rivalry.
"We compete in just about everything," said 13-year-old Dallas Harrison. "From video games to sports, we are always competing against each other."
The Harrison brothers are one of seven sets of siblings on the Tigershark swim team, including 9-year-old twins Amelia and Zachary Grider.
But the twins admit they don't compare times or ribbons.
Galen Grider said if there is one area where the two duke it out its in the academic arena.
"They are real competitive when it comes to grades in school," Galen Grider said. "My wife and I enjoy swimming, so we encouraged them to get into swimming."
Greenville swim coach Debbie Haire said that by having so many groups of siblings on the team, only makes the team better.
"The younger siblings see what the older siblings do and they want to be able to do the same thing," she said.
While some parents may push their children to be competitive, Galen Grider said that he sees being on a swim team as a chance for his children to compete on an individual level, but also play a part of a team sport.
"I really like winning the races and getting a good time," Amelia said.
And with every race Amelia and Zachary compete in, they both have a notebook filled with their times in each race and their ribbons won. And it's noticeable that both have done well in their respective groups.
"The notebook helps them to see how well they have improved each week of competition," Galen Grider said.
Some of the siblings on the team are close in age and others have a much older sister or brother on the team. In the case of 6-year-old Rhiya Daniels, she is just getting started as a Tigershark, while her older sister, Lacey Callins, has been on the team for the last four years.
The two don't always compete against each other, except at home in the pool.
"I get in first place a little, but most times (Lacey) wins," Daniels said.