Local swimmer Fletcher ready to compete in NCAA Division 1

By Dale Woodard on May 14, 2021.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDsports@lethbridgeherald.com

Out of a disappointing development, Isaac Fletcher was still able to take the next step.

Or in the case of the local swimmer, the next lap.

Those laps will take place south of the border and at the NCAA Division 1 level as Fletcher, a member of the Lethbridge Amateur Swim Club, signs with the University of Nebraska Omaha.

“It’s been a dream of mine since I was nine and started swimming, to make Division 1,” said Fletcher, a student at LCI who will graduate this spring. “It’s really nice to see that dream come true after nine years of hard work.”

However, just over a year ago the COVID-19 pandemic put a hold Fletcher’s swimming aspirations.

“Last March, I qualified for the 2020 Canadian Olympic Trials and a few weeks out from the meet actually happening it got cancelled,” he said. “It was a pretty disappointing thing to have happen. With the pandemic, the pools have been opened and closed over and over. It’s been difficult. But it has allowed me to set different goals and focus on different aspects of my life.”

That focus eventually settled on Nebraska, where Fletcher’s mother, Sharon, grew up and went to high school and where his sister was born.

“So I’m pretty familiar with what living down there is like and just through my recruiting process the UNO was really nice to me. They were very interested and I just felt at home immediately.”

Fletcher’s path to NCAA Division 1 started nearly a decade ago.

Curiously, the sport Fletcher now excels in was one he wasn’t completely sold on when he first started.

“I started when I was nine years old,” said Fletcher.

“My parents forced me to take up swimming. We were trying to find a sport that I really liked to do. At first, I didn’t like swimming at all, but eventually I liked it.”

The combination of the individual and team aspects of swimming ultimately sold Fletcher on the sport.

“I like how there’s an individual focus, although there is a team aspect to the sport,” said Fletcher, who usually swims freestyle, backstroke and the individual medley with distances ranging from 50m to 200m.

“In practice it’s nice to have teammates to train against and once we go into meets there’s both the combination of team events and individual events. So just the combination of having teammates to support you in your individual events is nice.”

Training with the LASC and head coach Peter Schori, Fletcher continued to hone his skills locally, even when the pandemic closed the training facilities.

“When pools were closed my swim club worked out outside when restrictions allowed to stay in as good of shape as possible,” said Fletcher.

“My coach, Peter, has been a really good coach and mentor. He’s been a great swim coach, teaching me how to excel in the sport and also how to excel in life in general and teaching me important life skills. He’s really excited for me. I’ve been swimming with his group since I was 12. So we’ve gotten to know each other pretty well.

He’s excited to see another one of his swimmers move on and swim post secondary.”

Fletcher has already started to do his homework as he gets ready NCAA Division 1.

“It’s going to be a different environment, for sure,” said Fletcher, who will major in chemistry with a medicine focus.

“From my own research, I’ve started to set goals in trying to place in the top-five or top-10 in my events in the conference championship meet.”

Fletcher said most of the university’s swimmers train year round.

“But their season goes from August and September. I think their conference championship meet was in April, but I think it’s usually earlier than that.”

In the meantime, it’s back to work with the LASC as the summer months approach.

“Right now I’ll keep training on my own with my club and I think I’ll head down in August, meet the team and train with them,” said Fletcher.

Though familiar with the region through his family ties, Fletcher has been unable to see the school he’ll call home for the next four years due to the pandemic closing the borders.

Still, a virtual tour has given him a good glimpse of what to expect.

“Their pool is set up to host some pretty big competitions,” said Fletcher.

“I know as an athlete I’m provided with the supports to help me succeed in the classroom. I’ve talked with the coaches and they seem like really nice people who know their field.”

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