The perfect time to improve

BY THE NUMBERS 

56.41 — Time in seconds it took Walker to swim the 100-yard breaststroke to win the Class 3A state title Nov. 14 in Stuart. 

3 — Seconds Walker needs to drop in the long course 100 breaststroke to have a shot at the Olympic Trials. 

2 — Minimum events Walker will swim at the 2015 Winter Junior National Championships Dec. 9 through Dec. 12, in Atlanta. He also hopes to qualify for four events total. 

1 — Month Walker has been training with Pipeline Swimming. 

6 — Place Walker finished in the 100-yard freestyle at the Class 3A Swimming and Diving State Championships Nov. 14, in Stuart. 

BODY

Ryan Walker now is known around Braden River High as “that swimmer guy.” 

In a sport that doesn’t typically get the same notoriety on campus as football or basketball, Walker has become one of the Pirates' most recognizable faces. 

Teachers, coaches and students routinely stop Walker in the hallways to offer their congratulations and get a glimpse at Braden River’s newest golden boy. Even students he doesn’t know have shown an interest in him. 

Winning the school’s first individual state swimming championship will do that for you. 

“Swimming doesn’t usually get a ton of attention," Walker said. “To not only be able to win state, but to have everyone know what I accomplished was good.” 

Walker won the 100-yard breaststroke at the Class 3A Swimming and Diving State Championships Nov. 14, in Stuart, after dropping nearly two seconds of his personal best time. 

“I knew this was my last high school season and my last state meet opportunity,” Walker said. “I worked as hard as I could for the last four months, taking advantage of every practice I had. My hard work paid off.

"I was able to get the time I wanted and win in a personal best.” 

For Walker, winning a state title is only the first step in a series of building blocks he hopes to achieve over the next nine months. 

He returned to the pool to begin training for the 2015 Speedo Winter Junior Championships Dec. 9-12 in Atlanta. 

Walker will spend the next two weeks preparing with his Tampa-based Pipeline Swimming coaches. 

Besides the 100 breaststroke at the Winter Junior Championships, he will compete in the 100 freestyle, an event in which he placed sixth at the state meet. He hopes to achieve the necessary times to qualify for the 200 breaststroke and 50 freestyle as well. 

The meet offers an opportunity for Walker to face new, tougher competition.

“I don’t really feel any pressure from anywhere,” Walker said. “I treat every meet the same. I want to put in a good effort. I’m not going to waste my time, so I might as well go hard for a minute.” 

The breaststroke always has been Walker’s main stroke, but he actually never swam it during high school season until this year. It was always the stroke he preferred, but something always was off. 

At the end of the summer, Walker had a breakthrough while swimming the 50-meter breaststroke for fun at the 2015 YMCA Long Course National Championship Aug. 3 through Aug. 7 in Indianapolis. Walker advanced to the C Final where he finished third in 31.52 seconds. 

It was the first time Walker had advanced to a Y National final and everything from his breathing to his movement in the water finally fit together. He seemed to find a refreshed attitude toward the stroke.

Walker continued his training with a particular emphasis on sprints and kicks, but he’s also incorporated yoga and basic stretching exercises into his pre-and post workout routine. That helped him shave seconds off his personal best times.

“Breaststroke always has been easier for me,” Walker said. “I worked a lot on flexibility over the summer, which helped it all come together.” 

"He has worked so hard for a few years now and many months on his own," said Christine Walker, Ryan Walker's mother. "He wanted to prove it to himself and prove to others that he knew what he needed to do on his own to get it done." 

Following Winter Junior Nationals, Walker plans to take a week or two off before diving back into the pool in hopes of qualifying for the 2016 Junior National Championships Aug. 8 through Aug. 12, in Minneapolis, and, if all goes well, the 2016 Olympic Trials. 

Walker needs to drop roughly three seconds off his 100 breaststroke long course time to make the Olympic Trials' cut. The time standard is 1 minute, 3.69 seconds and Walker swims just over a 1:06. 

“I figure if I’m going to spend the next four years swimming in college, I might as well try to make the Olympic team,” said Walker, who is leaning toward swimming for Drury University in Springfield, Mo., but has yet to officially commit. “I just want to be the best that I can be whatever that is.”