JAMES SPICER

Making Waves

James Spicer

was already writing my next set. Coach Bryan Farris turned around to give me a thumbs up, a gesture I returned while also sucking down breaths. He made his way over to my lane and began to describe how the next set is a severely reduced version of a distance set that Olympic gold medalist Katie Ledecky does regularly. As I look past him and begin to dread the pseudo-Olympic set he’s written on the board, I also take a second to think about why he’s done it. Bryan is a coach who always expects great things from his swimmers and isn’t afraid to couldn’t help but wonder about him. This was a coach who knew all about my swimming career from start to present day, but I knew very little about his, and I wanted to get to know the man who convinced me to attend Morningside.

In Lexington, Kentucky, 1967, Bryan Farris was a tall, thin kid who couldn’t help but shiver during swim lessons in the WYCA pool. His aunt and uncle, who were lifeguards, had convinced his mother that it would be an excellent idea for him to receive swim lessons. Slowly the chill went away, and a spark began to grow inside Bryan over the next few years. In 9th grade, Bryan moved to La Crosse, Wisconsin, and attended a high school that had no pool. Bryan was not going to be held out of the water for long. He and his parents sat in the plush to do so. The administrators relented, saying that if they could put together a team, Bryan could go to state using the name of their high school. Bryan and his parents spent much of the next few weeks asking around

These three swimmers showed Bryan the three out of four kinds of swimmers that existed within the sport. There was his teammate who seemed to glide through the La Crosse YMCA’s water with ease, always popping all the talent and none of the drive” and irritated Bryan when he’d miss or sit out during a large part of their practices. The second is the type of swimmer who always seems to be in a battle with the water and always loses. Only able to do freestyle and backstroke because they couldn’t go very long without breathing. Finally, there was This 10th grade team would slowly grow as Bryan continued on in high school, but it was with these three that when Bryan had narrowed his college choices down to two. It was between The University of Alabama and The he’d received over the course of his senior year, he was going to swim for one of these two teams. The University of Alabama coach told Bryan over the phone that he could walk on to the Swim Team if he wanted, but there wouldn’t be any scholarship money for him athletically. Bryan felt scorned by the crimson college and wanted to be rewarded for his talent. Then there was Iowa. memorabilia and plaques and trophies. The current coach looked at the blonde high schooler in front of him and saw talent. Coach Patton saw someone that he believed could make an impact on his team, and he wanted Bryan Farris to help make an even bigger impact. Bryan thought that he could’ve easily mistaken the man in front of him as a car salesman rather than a coach. This man could’ve “sold ice cream to an Eskimo” if he tried hard enough. It was enough, though. By the end of the meeting, Bryan was sold on the school and was going to be a Hawkeye. was a coach who pushed Bryan not only in the pool but also in his thinking. Draper inspired Bryan and his philosophies on hard work and also with the way he wrote his workouts. Draper kept a notebook with his sets and would mark down things in a particular way. 5.9 meant 5,900 yards, and this is a habit that Bryan has maintained during his time coaching (much to the dismay of new swimmers who attempt to read the notes from his Rick and Morty pocket journal).

Throughout his time at Iowa, Bryan would grow as a swimmer and grow to love his teammates like family,

some of whom he’s still in contact with today. One of Bryan’s teammates, Graeme Brewer, actually scored a would experience what it truly meant to have a college experience, from placing bets on whether a distance that was being scolded because they’d snuck around an Indianapolis town and urinated on all the doorknobs of the state legislature building.

It wasn’t all fun and games, however. Farris found his resolve tested during his sophomore year’s climax. After a strong start during his freshman year, he began to think of himself as a “hotshot swimmer” and it came back to bite him. During the end of his sophomore swim season, he found himself placing 8th in the 100-yard for himself, he had to make a choice. He could be just another swimmer on the team or step up and become something. Having already decided on attending Iowa over Alabama because he wanted to be rewarded for his work and dedication, the decision was already made. He chose to rededicate himself to the sport and rebuild during his junior year. Big things were coming his way. Stepping up onto the block, senior captain swimmer Bryan Farris was going head to head against his teammate Tom Williams in the 100 freestyle at Big 10’s. This was one of the biggest meets of the year and

NIGHT LIFE Madeline Keating photography

“This photograph represents myself growing as an artist and trying out di erent visual media to get di erent perspectives of the subjects I’m capturing.”

to one another’s success. Neither one wanted to back down, and it was this relentless power struggle that made they had completed three-fourths of the race, they were still side by side in the water. During the last length, it was as if time slowed down. They both took a breath, making eye contact. “It’s you or me buddy,” these were his last breath of the race. Arm over arm, legs kicking as fast as they could go, Bryan dug deep and fought go to the Olympic Trials.

Unfortunately, Trials were not everything he’d dreamed of. The meet itself could only be described as, came and went without any joy. This meet would serve as a starting point for Bryan and his philosophy as a coach. If there was no fun while swimming, there’s no point in doing it.

After graduating from college, one thing was clear for Bryan Farris: he wasn’t done with swimming yet. Before going on to receive his master’s degree, Bryan found himself assistant coaching for the Iowa City Swim Club. Now he was on the other side of the sport, and he liked what he was doing. He would go on to get his master’s in secondary education from the University of South Dakota, and while he was there, he would begin making waves. Under his guidance, Yankton and Vermillion would combine their two small teams into one out as coach at the Y and then transitioned to a high school coach. This team started with 75 swimmers and has When asked if Bryan could grow their team at the rate that they wanted, he did not channel his former Iowa swim recruiter. Instead of telling them that he could do precisely what they wanted, he was honest. He told them that what they were asking of a brand-new swim team was unreasonable and didn’t try to sell them something he couldn’t provide. This approach worked, but not until later. Bryan was passed over for the position not once, not twice, but three times. During this time Bryan was teaching high school at Sioux City East and Bishop Heelan and also coaching high school and age group swim teams. Then in 2012 Bryan was hired. He now worked under Athletic Director Tim Jager, a man he still holds in high regard. He credits Jager with his desire for fairness and recognition that every sport should be honored and funded here at Morningside. for All-American and Academic All-American swimmers that he’s coached. On the corkboard behind him are pinned-up notes and a map that has pins all over a map of the United States. Across from me behind his big wooden desk sits my current swim coach in his usual attire. Bryan has three very distinct ways of dressing, and The most memorable of his shirts is not one with the Morningside logo, nor is it the Green Bay Packer jersey, but rather it’s one from the TV show Rick and Morty. The maroon shirt has a picture of Morty from the show and a long quote about getting “your shit together.”

He sits back and smiles, thinking before he answers me. worked.” He knew what his swimmers wanted, and he wanted to give them the same fun experience he had in college.

“The budget is always a struggle. Sometimes we don’t get the recruits we should. I wish scholarships were more structured; we are losing out on kids because we aren’t able to provide the money that they feel they deserved.”

He smiles and shakes his head before continuing.

“Mostly nothing to complain about, though. We are an excellent school.” when I was being recruited for the team. There’s a shine in Bryan’s eye whenever he talks about her. She was his KIOSK2021 31

who made such an impact on Bryan, as well as other head coaches, that when he passed everyone who knew some sort of sports cap on his head.

Bryan has made it clear that he’s proud of all of his teams and what they’ve accomplished. He strives to make sure that each swimmer is a champion not only in the water but also in the classroom. He boasts that both the men’s and women’s teams are Academic All-American and are doing far more than just meeting a 2.0 GPA he was expecting. “Never let expectations hold back what you’re able to do.”

“I’ve heard you mention giving all your swimmers the ‘Morningside Experience.’ Can you explain what it is you’re selling?”

“It’s unique to each swimmer. Making sure each swimmer is in a position to do things that interest them. It’s

Coaching and athletics are two sides of the same coin. Working hard to make sure that you and your athlete strive to be the best that they can possibly be can be a monumental task. Morningside coach Bryan Farris still has top 10 times at the University of Iowa, and yet speaks with just as much pride describing them as he does when talking about the success of the swimmers he’s coached. His successes and their successes are forever linked.

“Going forward I want to grow the team, make our current swimmers faster, and get more on the team. And, of course, to have fun.”

It has been just over three years now since I started swimming for Coach Farris here at Morningside. I am constantly reassured time and again by the way he coaches and interacts with my teammates and me that I could not have chosen a better college or coach to swim for. It’s hard to believe that until I came here on my recruiting trip my senior year of high school, I swore I’d never touch the pool again after I graduated. It was Bryan who changed my mind with the way he not only made me feel wanted, but also he convinced me that I could come here and truly make a positive impact on the team. He was right, in all of the best ways. I’m proud relationships I’ve built with my teammates as both a swimmer and as a captain, none of which would have been possible without Bryan. I think that when the time comes next year, the hardest part of my college swimming career won’t have been getting in the water at 5:30 every morning, it will be getting out of the water one last time and saying thank you to the coach who’s done so much for me.

PERFECTION ISN’T PERFECT Melissa Gillette photography

ONE DAM Sterling Stecker photography

“We were awakened by a strange man shaking our tent, and yelling at us. ‘You need to pay or you can deal with the sheri ’s pistol.’” “Perfection Isn’t Perfect depicts the Rocky Mountain range in Estes Park. The main focus is the mountain range and trees, both as they are and their reflections. Life is messy; sometimes there are rocks and logs in the water. Nature isn’t perfect, so why do you need to be?”