When most swimmers on the boys’ team think of their biggest obstacle, the first thing to come to mind is usually dropping time or beating the other team.
For freshman Evan Davis, however, the goal is to break stereotypes and prove a point.
Evan Davis is autistic, and has limited social and communication skills.
“He’s pretty high functioning,” Evan Davis’s sister senior Emily Davis said. “But his speech and social capabilities are really limited.”
“His communication skills are a little but different,” head coach Tom Wyllie said. “He’s just not as talkative as the other swimmers.”
Evan Davis has been swimming since he was little, but has never been on a team prior to this year.
“We have a pool in our backyard,” Emily Davis said, “And we used to live in LA, so he’s always known how to swim. He’s always been a good swimmer, but he was never on any teams.”
This summer, Evan Davis set his mind to joining the Seaholm team, and ever since he has not given up on his goal.
“My dad planted the idea in his head,” Emily Davis said. “He said ‘Evan, do you want to be on the Seaholm swim team your freshman year?’ And then he got really excited about it, and he had this goal to keep swimming in order to be on [the team].”
Evan Davis took private lessons once a week with a neighbor who swims for Miami of Ohio to learn the basics of the sport. He also swam 100 laps every day with his dad.
“I was informed of [his preparation] ahead of time,” Wyllie said. “I knew that he was really committed, that he really wanted to be part of the team, and that he had already done some prep work over the summer. But I know it wasn’t anywhere near the amount of work that we do here.”
At the start, Evan Davis had some difficulty with the intense practices, but he still showed dedication beyond most.
“He used to complain just like everyone else how tired he was,” Wyllie said. “But he put in the work diligently.”
“At the beginning of the year, it was harder for him,” senior captain Alex Wood said. “He had to have some people show him what to do, but now you can tell him what to do and he’ll do it. He doesn’t have to ask any questions, he just gets it done.”
Evan Davis’s work ethic was raved about by everyone interviewed.
“It’s inspiring to see how hard he works,” Emily Davis said. “I’m really proud of him. He is constantly pushing and striving to be better and to get first place.”
“He’s one of the hardest workers on the team,” Wood said. “It’s unbelievable how he just rose to the occasion and totally fits in, and everybody loves him.”
“He races,” Wyllie said. “Which to a coach, that’s a trait that you like. Because in swimming, the emphasis is time, time, time. But in a dual meet, if you swim slow, but you beat the other guy, I don’t care, you beat the other guy. He’s competitive in practice, he’s competitive in meets. He wants to go faster. And that’s what I’m asking from all my swimmers.”
Watching Evan Davis swim, it’s difficult to believe that Evan had never been on a team before. He doesn’t practice in the slowest lane; in fact, he doesn’t practice in the second, third, or even fourth slowest lanes. His strokes may not be effortless and graceful, but they are precise and smooth. He doesn’t have any trouble keeping up, or even passing, his teammates.
Evan Davis has been working his way up from the bottom the whole season. He has improved immensely, proving that anybody can set their mind to something and achieve it.
“He swims in every meet,” Emily Davis said. “There are heats of swimmers, and he’s not in the slowest heat, he’s moving up. He keeps up with all the other kids. He’s definitely not the slowest one. He’s actually taken first [in a heat] twice in two different meets, and a third place [in a heat], and he does relays, so he does well.”
“We had our last dual meet last night [Wednesday, February 4],” Wyllie said, “And Evan did his personal best times. Compared to those same swims he did at the beginning of the season, he made dramatic improvements.
Ever since Evan Davis won a heat, anything less than first has become unacceptable to him.
“Once he got first place,” Emily Davis said, “He was completely obsessed with getting first place. Then one meet, he didn’t do very well, he didn’t get a first place, and he was so upset that he came home and he was crying. He doesn’t get it, why he couldn’t get first place. So, he works really, really hard. Not everyone on the team strives to get first place, they just strive to get better, and he just has this idea in his head that he has to get first place every time.”
Evan Davis’s team members have been extremely supportive and encouraging at meets.
“There have been a few people who have really taken [to helping],” Emily Davis said. “They’ll be like ‘Ok Evan, this is the race you have to swim, put your swim cap on, this what time, this is how many strokes you have to do,’ and have been really helpful.”
For the most part, though, Evan will keep to himself.
“He sits around, and he’s pretty quiet,” Emily Davis said. “He has this security blanket, he has some video that is recorded on his video camera, and he’ll sit there and he’ll listen to it, and that’s his security blanket. It helps him relax.”
Since joining the team, Evan Davis has enhanced more than just his swimming.
“Actually, what I’ve noticed throughout the course of the season,” Wyllie said. “Is as he’s become part of the team, his communication skills have gotten better. He can carry on a very simple conversation.”
Evan Davis has done more than just go faster this swim season; he has become an inspiration to anybody with a disability who wants to achieve something.
“I would hope that it sends a message to the rest of the school,” Wyllie said, “That if you’re willing to do what it takes to be a part of this team, it doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from, you’re more than welcome to be a part of the team. And if you do what the rest of the team does, you’re going to amaze yourself, just in terms of how good at this sport you can get, because I think he’s probably swimming faster than he ever though he could.”
Evan Davis has not only become an aspiration physically, but has also conquered his social boundaries.
“He’s never really had that niche,” Emily Davis said, “Something that he can do. He’s always home, watching videos, watching You- Tube on his camera, and now finally he has something. He can go out every day, he has a schedule, he swims three hours a day. It’s really great. He’s happy that he’s found something, and he’s making friends.”
“He’s just a regular part of the team,” Wyllie said, “Just like everyone else. We all have different strengths we bring to the team, some bring humor, some bring raw speed, some bring strength, others bring comradery. And Evan, his presence on the team brings out the best in the guys because everybody looks out for everybody else. That’s one of the unique features of the boys’ team in general. Everybody looks out for one another. He’s just a part of the team, just like everybody else.”
