Each year, SwimRVA’s Swim School welcomes over 800 participants, all bringing their own goals and individual needs revolving around learning to swim. Once graduating, participants gain more than just essential water safety skills; they are equipped to begin a lifelong journey in aquatics. Swim School alum James is a shining example, as he has achieved national-level success over the years since graduating from the program.

James’s earliest swimming memories revolve around a deal his mom made with him in order to incentivize him while participating in lessons. “My mom said that if I passed station six or seven, she’d give me a swim bag”, James explained, “and it took me almost a year to pass that station, so I was super happy when I did. It was my first swim bag that she ever gave me.” Swim lessons weren’t particularly easy for James, but with the encouragement of his instructors he was able to stay determined and pass the final station.

With his brand new bag, James was set to begin his aquatic adventures. However, water polo wasn’t his first stop. “My mom wanted me to try the swim team,” James explained, “but I felt like I was just swimming up and down the lane with no purpose.” Swimming was not for James, and he quickly moved to the next option: water polo. Although he was swimming up and down in the same pool, he quickly “felt like I had found my purpose.” James also noted the bonds that he formed with his teammates and coaches, and how he looked up to them early on.

It wasn’t long before the roles began to reverse and James became the athlete others looked up to. After participating in his first tournament in 2017, James made rapid progress and within just a couple years found himself attending a Regional Development Clinic through USA Water Polo. While exciting at the time, the clinic was only the beginning. Nearly a year later in 2023, James climbed the USA Water Polo national ladder as he attended the Olympic Development Program, Northeast Zone Regionals, Zone Nationals, National Team Selection Camp, and finally represented Team USA as a National Development Team athlete. This was a major accomplishment, as the National Development Team is exclusive to just 27 players selected from all over the country. 

The next year, James earned impressive honors with invitations to the National Team Selection Camp and the Northeast Zone Regional Team, but fell short of making the National Development Team. Rather than seeing it as a failure, he embraced it as motivation to keep growing. “I really wanted to get back to that National Team,” he explained, “so I pushed through, and that next year I got to the National Team and got the opportunity to play Australia.” James was back where he wanted to be, and his successes continued to grow from there.

After attending the 2025 National Team Selection Camp, James was selected to play for the Team USA Cadet Team. As part of the team, he will compete in the World Futures 2025 Tournament in Serbia this summer. Featuring standout international water polo athletes born in 2009, this tournament affirms James’s place among the top youth players in the United States.

“James’s relentless hard work doesn’t just shape his game; it defines him.” explained Rapids Water Polo Coach Matthew. “It’s what turns talent into greatness and makes him an amazing player.”

By representing both SwimRVA and Team USA on the international stage for the second time in his young career, James is on a very promising path to meeting his long-term goals. “I’m planning on hopefully going to a school in California because that’s where all the big water polo teams are from,” he explained, “but also for academics, too. I’m planning on studying engineering because I’m good at spatial relationships and when I think about life beyond water polo, that’s what I want to do.” Attending UCLA is the dream for James, and he has had the opportunity to meet the coaches and cheer on the team when out in California.

James is also very active in his community, as he has used the skills developed in swim lessons to become certified and work as a lifeguard in addition to volunteering at SwimRVA. James recently hosted his own 12U clinic this past April at SwimRVA, mixing fun games with skill-building drills while mentoring young athletes interested in the sport. In recognition of his community involvement James was honored with the Impact Award for Community Service and the Jennifer Lynn Harris Trailblazer Award.

“James is a phenomenal water polo player and a dedicated advocate for the sport of water polo.” explained Rapids Water Polo Head Coach Jacob Henry. “As a player he seeks out opportunity and works to improve every day. He always looks for what he can do better to improve the game for his team. As an experienced leader in our program he hosts clinics and tries to build younger players up. James shows up to the pool not only ready to improve his personal game but also to grow water polo as a whole.”

For James, he largely attributes his success to being part of such a strong community here at SwimRVA, which traces all the way back to Swim School. “When I was in lessons, everybody encouraged me to help me get past that station I was stuck on. They kept pushing and pushing me to get to that next level” James reflected. And that encouragement has followed him into water polo. “With water polo now, I have the same kind of support with Coach Matthew, Coach Jacob, and my teammates. They really feel like a family.”  

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From California to Serbia and beyond, James exemplifies the incredible opportunities that learning to swim can create: and it all began right here at SwimRVA.