By Dave Krider
MaxPreps.com
Jimmy Feigen became a swimmer out of pure necessity. Let the Churchill (San Antonio, Texas) national record-holder tell the story.
“I was born in Hawaii (Hilo) and had to get into it at a real young age,” he told MaxPreps, “because my mom (Beth) was afraid of us (him and two older sisters) drowning. When I was one – just before I learned to swim – a major decision was made. I fell into our pool and went straight to the bottom. My dad (Michael) had to jump in and save me.”
Even though he started swimming so young, the 6-foot-5, 194-pound senior just emerged as a true superstar during the last year. At this year’s Class 5A Texas state meet, he stunned the swimming world by setting national records in the 50-yard freestyle (19.49) and 100-yard freestyle (43.05) while sparking Churchill to the team championship. On both occasions, he broke his own records which he had set several weeks earlier. His 19.49 clocking would have placed him seventh in this year’s NCAA finals.
For his phenomenal senior efforts, Feigen was named Texas High School Swimmer of the Year. “That’s probably the one that meant the most to me,” he noted.
Longtime Churchill coach Al Marks says that Feigen’s success is based on “a combination of four things. He loves competing. He has God-given talent. His stroke is perfect and he has good ability to process coaching. And the fourth thing is confidence. Confidence is the key word.”
Feigen’s path to stardom has been long and definitely not filled with great success until the past couple of years. After the family had moved to Harlingen, Texas, he began competitive swimming at age five. His first attempt at the backstroke was somewhat of a disaster. He asked his mom if he had turned in a qualifying time for the state meet only to find out he had been disqualified for using an illegal stroke.
Mrs. Feigen, a family-practice doctor, began taking Jimmy and older sisters Annie and Lyn to work with a private coach – Mel Allick of the San Antonio Wave Swim Club – two weekends per month. It was close to an eight-hour drive for a round trip. After about four months, the family moved to San Antonio.
When he was 10 years old, Feigen turned in the nation’s ninth-fastest time for his age group in the 50-yard butterfly (29.50).
From ages 7-12, Feigen was equally serious about soccer. He tried one year of basketball, but didn’t like it. At ages 13 and 14 he really got into organized paintball competition. He described it colorfully as “a tremendous rush – like video games on crack.” However, he gave it up, he added, “because it was more of a hassle after awhile.”
His swimming efforts from ages 11 to 14 were pretty lackluster. “I didn’t grow a lot,” he explained. “I was getting beaten badly for awhile. Everyone was getting real tall. I was thin and scrawny. My mom kept telling me that I was going to grow (she is 5-11 and her husband is 6-2) and that I had the perfect body for a swimmer.”
Feigen’s freshman year at San Antonio Reagan was a breakout year in several ways. First of all he grew five inches to 6-1 and his weight rose to 170 pounds. He was forced to give up soccer and concentrate solely on swimming because the seasons conflicted. It also marked the first year that he began doing two-a-day workouts from September through February.
He conceded that the growth spurt “helped my self esteem a lot. It’s nice to be able to see over all the people in the room,” he kidded. In the pool, “It really helps a lot because you have to get on your side. I’m blessed with a strong core and really long arms, so I can really reach out.”
Of course, he has grown four more inches since then and now is a towering 6-5.
The highlight of his freshman year was winning the district 50-yard freestyle in 21.69 seconds.
As a sophomore, he transferred to San Antonio Churchill and set a district record of 20.82 in the 50 free. He then finished second in the state meet with a clocking of 20.80. As a junior he finally got that elusive first state title by winning the 50-yard freestyle in 20.45 after clocking 20.29 in the trials. He also placed second in the 100 free (44.88).
His junior year he also inherited a white robe from a friend, Mark Higley. “It keeps me warm and holds my ipod,” he laughed. “I’m always listening to my music.”
He likes to dip his fingers in the water and rub them together. “It kind of helps psych me up and get ready for the meet,” he explained.
Lorne Chan, who covers swimming for the San Antonio Express-News, says the colorful Feigen gives the appearance of a boxer preparing for a major fight. “I do enjoy the attention,” Feigen admits, “but when it’s that close to my swim I’m not really thinking about the stands – I’m in kind of a trance.”
The summer before his senior year, Feigen set a goal of making the National Junior Team by swimming the cut-off time (51.89) for the 100-meter freestyle. Competing for the San Antonio Wave in July, he was timed in 51.52 – also an Olympic-cut time – at the sectional meet.
In October he was invited to the Olympic Training Camp in Colorado Springs, Colo., where “They totally revamped our strokes. They taught us a lot of new techniques and things about nutrition.”
Then from Dec. 27-Jan. 9 he was part of the USA team which competed in Melbourne, Australia. He called it “my break-out meet.” And so it was because he set USA National Junior Team records in the 50-meter freestyle (23.00 for fourth place) and for his lead-off split on the 400-meter relay (50.85 for 100 meters), which placed second.
“It was a real boost to my confidence,” he noted. “I knew after my taper, I was going to go faster.”
Returning late for his final year at Churchill, the confident Feigen set his first national record by swimming the 50-yard freestyle in 19.65 seconds during the district preliminaries. Then he set a national record in the regional by swimming the 100-yard freestyle in 43.41. Of course, he then broke both of those records during his sensational state-finals performance.
“It was quite a feeling,” Feigen said of his final high school meet. “I can’t explain it. I felt clearly satisfied. I thought this would be a fast year, but never saw this coming. I got started and it’s a good wave to roll on going to college.”
Before he heads to college, however, there’s a little matter of the Olympic Trials from June 27-July 5 in Omaha, Neb. He says he would love to make the top eight in the 50 free and top 16 in the 100 free. The U.S. will be able to enter just two in the 50 and six in the 100.
“Right now what he can accomplish is unlimited,” says Matt Bos, coach of the San Antonio Wave Swim Club. “He’s one of the most talented kids I’ve ever seen. Everything is laid out perfectly for him.” He explained that Feigen will get some great experience this summer against fierce competition and when he graduates from college in four years he will be a seasoned veteran with a great shot at making the team in 2012.
The young superstar has signed with the University of Texas and calls Eddie Reese “one of the best coaches in the world. I’ve had a special bond with him ever since I’ve lived in Texas. I’d like to help UT win the NCAA championship. They’re always in the top three. Next year we’ve got a real good shot.”
Reese, who also is coach of this year’s USA Olympic team, confesses, “I never thought anybody could come from one of the top 10 juniors in the country to where he is today. His 50 and 100 free are just incredible. At the beginning of the year, I’d have bet my house against him doing that. Since he did it after we signed him, I was pleasantly shocked. Through hard work, he’s made tremendous strides.”
Though he knows that age and strength are against Feigen making the Olympic team, Reese has seen many surprises during his long career. “With no pressure, watch out,” he warns. “You’re not only the underdog, but you’re also the hungry dog.”
Feigen carries an “A” average in the classroom, with biology being his favorite course. He wants to go into pre-med and eventually become an orthopedic surgeon.
The teenage record-setter says that “Monty” is not going to accompany him to college – at least the first year. Monty is his four-foot ball python. He calls his pet of five years “real cool. I like snakes. It took a whole lot of convincing (before he was allowed to bring Monty home). Everyone else kind of stays away from him.”
Monty has been known to get loose occasionally. Somehow he once slithered into a bag of clothes which was taken by a friend, Trent Butz, who put it into his car. On the way home he crashed into a mailbox and totaled his car. No one knew Monty was in the car and later when mechanics were checking the engine they found him tightly wrapped around the air conditioning vent.
The mechanics were not available to comment. They’re probably still running for their lives.
