I work with his Mom, so I watched this fellow swim last night:
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Melillo puts in the time
Publish Date: 12/12/05
By Brandon Oland
Frederick News-Post Staff
Thomas Johnson senior Simone Melillo spends a good deal of
his time in a pool, where he hones his swimming skills.
FREDERICK -- Wake up at 3:45 a.m.
Drive 50 miles to American University for three hours of
swimming practice. Drive to school. Go to class. Drive back
to American for more swimming. Return home. Do homework.
Go to sleep.
This is the typical schedule for TJ (Thomas Johnson High
School) senior swimmer Simone Melillo on one of his slower
days.
"There are not enough hours in the day," Melillo said.
He laughs and shakes his head.
Melillo is a busy guy.
Swimming consumes Melillo's life. On average, Melillo makes
nine trips a week to the American University pool (which is
a nasty commute) so he can train with the elite Curl Burke
Swim Club.
In the winter, Melillo also makes time to compete with the
defending county champion Patriots, where he serves as a
team captain and owns four individual and three relay
records. He also owns the county record in the 200 IM.
"I don't have time," Melillo said, "for much else other
than swimming."
Melillo is used to the hectic schedule. Sometimes, he gets
tired and gets his parents to drive him to pre-dawn swim
practices.
"It's an amazing family," Conley said. "His mother will get
up, drive him to practice, bring him back, take him to
school and then go work 5-6 hours at an architectural firm
then drive him back down." (These are the folks that know
Katie Ziegler and her family)
It's a huge commitment for the entire family, especially
for Melillo. But he pushes through, until he gets a chance
to go on vacation.
He visits the same place each year -- his old hometown of
Avellino, Italy.
When Melillo was 3 years old, he moved from Italy to
Frederick with his family. Melillo's father got a job with
NCI (National Cancer Institute, he's an oncologist, I
think) and relocated his family to the United States, where
Melillo took advantage of the opportunities available to
him.
Melillo is considering becoming a doctor. He applied for
early admission to Harvard (and got it), where he hopes to
join the swim team. He got just one question wrong on the
math portion of the SAT.
While Melillo adapted to the hectic American lifestyle, he
also looks forward to his annual Avellino visit. He allows
his weary body to be reinvigorated by the slow-paced
lifestyle of his native country.
He also enjoys the food. Southern Italy is known for its
pizza and pasta dishes.
"It's the best," Melillo said.
After visiting family, soaking up the Italian culture and
escaping his own busy lifestyle, Melillo returns home to
embark on his demanding swimming schedule.
Most elite swimmers do not elect to swim for their public
school teams. But Melillo is an exception. He is willing to
attend two practices each week so he can swim with the
Patriots. High school swimming gives Melillo a break from
the rigors of his club schedule.
"I think it's fun to do," Melillo said. "You get to be with
an entirely different team. I get to hang out with all my
school friends. I don't have much time to do that during
the week."
TJ coach Kevin Conley makes sure Melillo is eligible to
compete at meets without wearing him out.
"We've been very fortunate," Conley said, "to have him."
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http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/display.htm?StoryID=44968
Simone is about 5'-11, but looks taller in the water. He
is a pronounced right-breathing loper, but a very long-
stroke loper. In the 500 Free SCY, he swam a relaxed 5:00,
lapping the field. He took exactly 15 strokes each length,
and maintained a four-beat kick. We were up in the stands,
but it seemed to me that he kicked three beats while
breathing, like Hackett here:
http://www.donalfagan.com/html/fourbeat.html
His Mom said he wasn't a big kicker, and he didn't seem to
point his feet all that much.
He also swam the 100 Breast, his specialty stroke, again
leaving the field way behind. He started very deep and
came out of the water well past the half mark, a length
ahead of everyone. Including the underwater pull, he took
8, 8 and 9 strokes on the final three laps. Unfortunately,
the timing display wasn't on, so I don't have the times,
but his Mom thought he did a 1:02.
He also swam #2 in the 4x100 free relay. He adopted a
six-beat kick, and swam a bit more symmetrically, but still
took exactly 15 strokes per length.
It was a fun meet. His schoolmates held up various signs,
one saying, "Simone=Good". They had him laughing on the
blocks.