Back in action

SARASOTA — Charles Hayes jumps in the pool at Serendipity Racquet Club in Sarasota, gently pushes off the wall and warms up his signature stroke — the backstroke.

As the 16-year-old Out-of-Door Academy sophomore approaches the wall, Hayes stops, takes a moment to turn around and then slowly makes his way back to the other end of the pool.

Within a matter of moments, the clouds begin to erupt and pouring rain blankets the pool deck. But, rather than taking cover, Hayes remains in the pool alongside his teammates and continues with his workout.

He wants to take advantage of every available minute in the water.

After all, there was a time when Hayes wasn’t sure if he would be able to return to the pool.

Last October, Hayes began having pain in his knee. During a sectional swim meet, Hayes’ knee popped.

“It made it much worse,” Hayes said. “I walked around with pain for a while.”

After several misdiagnoses, Hayes was finally diagnosed with osteochondritis dissecans of the knee. A section of dead bone had separated from his kneecap and the floating bone had been affecting Hayes’ muscles, cartilage and blood flow.

Hayes underwent major knee surgery in March.

Hayes’ doctors told him that it would be at least a year before he would be able to swim again, but Hayes had other ideas. He continued to lift weights and eventually amped up his physical therapy; by July, Hayes was ready to return to the pool.

“I really wanted to get back as soon as possible,” Hayes said. “It’s been a long, hard journey trying to get back to where I was.”

Hayes began swimming competitively when he was 7 years old. After spending a year training with the Sarasota Sharks, Hayes’ family moved to Wisconsin where he joined a local competitive swim team there.

Five years later, Hayes competed in his first state competition where he finished fifth in the 200-yard backstroke. At that point, Hayes, who also played football, realized the pool was where he was meant to be.

“Swimming incorporates your entire body and it makes you fit all around,” Hayes said.

Hayes continued to swim competitively in Wisconsin before his family moved back to Sarasota three months ago.

He joined the ODA swim team this season in hopes of returning to his pre-injury form.

Hayes competed in his first swim meet Sept. 2, which provided Hayes with a benchmark for the season.

“It was really weird,” Hayes said. “I hadn’t pushed myself like that in a long time. I gained like 40 seconds from where I was before the injury, but the meets after that have only gotten easier.”

A week later, Hayes set a new school record in the 500 freestyle, which has since been broken by teammate Sarsen Whatmore, and the 100 backstroke (1:04.31).

“It’s pretty cool,” Hayes said. “I didn’t think I’d be able to do that. I was slow at first, but I’ve gotten a lot better.”

Hayes swims the 100- and 200-yard backstroke as well as the 500 freestyle, although the 200 backstroke is his best event.

Although he’s already made an immediate impact for the Thunder, Hayes is still limited in what he can do.

He can’t dive off of the blocks or practice flip turns in practice. ODA coach Michael Salmon also has put together a series of individualized workouts for Hayes to get him reacquainted with the pool.

Hayes has aspirations of breaking a minute in the 100 backstroke as the Sarasota County Championships and district meets approach.

“I want to get back to where I was right before the surgery,” Hayes said.