As a young child, Josiah Thomas learned to swim in lessons at the YMCA from an instructor named Matt. Many years later, this interaction seems serendipitous as Matt went on to become head coach of the North Lexington Family YMCA Tiger Shark swim team, where Josiah is completing the final years of his youth swim career. "Considering how much I have grown in my swim abilities at the Y - first at those swim lessons, and much later on the swim team - the Y, to me, would mean a place of expanding and pushing one's physical abilities to become a physically and mentally better person in the end."
In the pool, Josiah enjoys the 50 yard and 200 yard freestyle and breaststroke events the most, with the 50 yard free being his strongest. Through developing skills and strengths on swim team, Josiah has earned wisdom that goes far beyond the pool. "Being on a swim team has taught me three things: to work hard to achieve my goal, to remain determined even when I do not reach my goal, and to be supportive of those I work or compete with. These three lessons have helped me not just in swimming but in my every day life, too." For his own senior year, setting goals and working to achieve them has been a theme. "For my senior year in the pool, I hope to have been able to accomplish reaching quickest swims time I have done so far in all 4 strokes along with helping my team the best I could. If I am not mistaken, I did manage to accomplish that exact goal or at least come very close. I hope to continue reaching new speeds for my final summer swim season. I hope that all my hard work and studies will pay off in college and that I will be ready for college when it becomes time for me to go off and do it."
The senior who says his friends would describe him as "uplifting, smart, and hilarious" maintains a variety of hobbies outside of swimming as well. "One hobby that I like to do is help manage my family farm, which has sheep, goats, and chickens. I also play violin, which I have been playing since 2015."
Currently homeschooled and attending the co-op at Mars Hill Academy in Nicholasville, Josiah is looking ahead to the University of Kentucky with a major in chemical engineering. Before graduation, though, he offers some advice for new swimmers - characteristically, not just for swimming, but also for life:
"Do not be afraid to try hard things. The key to doing well in not just swimming but in anything is to remain focused on achieving a good goal and putting in the hard work to achieve it. And if you do not end up achieving your swim goal at a meet or winning your race, do not give up too quickly. Continue to keep pushing forward. I would additionally say that it is good to support your teammates and even the swimmers you race against whenever you can. Be the one that is willing to congratulate the person that just beat you in that 100 fly race. 'Do you not know that in a race all the swimmers swim, but only one gets the prize? Swim in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.'" -1 Corinthians 9: 24-25
Congratulations, Josiah, and best of luck as you complete your final seasons of swim!
