Sports

State a step in Rorer's plan

The sophomore at St. Petersburg aims for a title and beyond.

By EMERY SKOLFIELD
Published October 17, 2006

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ST. PETERSBURG - After seeing Tracy Rorer move through the water for the first time, coaches at a St. Petersburg Aquatics youth swimming clinic urged her mother, Teresa, to bring her 6-year-old daughter back.

The young Rorer was special, and it was plain to see.

She has rarely left the pool since.

Now 15 and a sophomore at St. Petersburg, Rorer is one of the area's top talents. Leaning on a training regimen that includes more than 20 hours a week in the pool, plus dry-land training, Rorer holds multiple school records and is a leading candidate to win a Class 3A state title in the 100 breaststroke, her top event.

"That's my goal for this year," said Rorer, who placed third at the 3A state meet as a freshman in 1 minute, 5.91 seconds, still a career best, to earn All-Pinellas County honors. "I've trained differently this year, so I'm hoping my time is better."

According to seventh-year St. Petersburg coach Sandy Heidt, Rorer's habit of clearly laying out her objectives largely aids her success.

"Tracy is self-motivated, and she's one of those swimmers who sets a goal and really works at it," Heidt said. "She realizes you can have a great coach, but the real success has to come from you - it really has to come from inside."

Rorer points to a handful of factors that fuel her training and drag her out of bed each Monday and Friday for 5 a.m. practices at North Shore Pool.

First is the aim to earn a full college scholarship (it's early, but she hopes to attend Georgia). Second is Rorer's desire to keep pace with the exploits of one of her best friends, Megan Romano, the Northeast standout and longtime club teammate. Then, of course, there are the Olympics.

"That would be great," said Rorer, who placed sixth in the state in the 200 individual medley in 2:08.34 last season.

For now, there are more pressing matters, and they have more to do with Heidt and her Green Devils teammates. Rorer said the high school season, during which she does not travel to club-related meets, is a cherished diversion for the highly competitive and sometimes stressful atmosphere of club swimming.

"Even though (the state meet) is not as big as some of the meets we travel to (with the club team)," Rorer said, "we think of it as a really big deal because we're swimming against some other schools. There's a lot of school spirit."

[Last modified October 17, 2006, 10:05:26]