In her last year of swimming, Linda Laird did something for the first time.
And it worked out nicely.
“We’ve always had senior captains,” said the Hamilton West girls’ swim coach, who is retiring after the year. “This season, I brought in the possibility of having a junior captain, which is different. I let the kids vote on it, because they see it. I put a few juniors out there this year with the seniors.”
And a precedent was set, as junior Shelby South was voted captain along with senior Erica Maevsky.
“Shelby’s a good example for the kids, a good role model,” Laird said. “She doesn’t take advantage of everything and try to boss everybody around. She talks with them and gives them advice.”
It’s all part of her game plan.
“I let the girls know I’m always there for them no matter what, I’m always there to talk and support them,” South said. “If they need something they’ll call me, they’ll text me, ‘Hey I need a ride to practice,’ and I’m there for them, no matter what.”
It is a position she takes seriously, because it is something she takes pride in.
“It was so important to me to be voted as captain, especially to be standing up and being able to represent the team for the incoming freshman, for the people who came back who are stepping up,” South said. “It was such an honor, because it means I’m a leader to them. I have to set an example and I have to give them someone to look up to.”
South does it with her leadership and her performance, as she became West’s top female swimmer with the graduation of Sam Courtney last year. Shelby had consistent top-three dual meet finishes in the IM and butterfly this year and was looking to get through to the Saturday finals at the Mercer County meet this year.
“She does very well for not being a year-round swimmer,” Laird said.
Shelby comes from a swimming background. In fact, her mom Lori swam for Laird at Steinert, and her aunt, Gina Fontana, swam at Nottingham.
“Lori was a good swimmer,” Laird recalled. “She still swims now over at the Y and did some instructional teaching with HAC (Hamilton Aquatics Club). So it’s not a surprise Shelby does so well.”
Obviously, her mom made an impact.
“I started from a young age,” South said. “I was swimming almost as soon as I was walking. As soon as I could support myself, I was in the pool. I enjoyed it, it gave me something to do and kept me busy. And I knew I could do it. I was never worried about going to a pool party and not worrying how to swim.”
South joined Hamilton Aquatics Club at age 7 but only did it for three years, saying “it was a lot, it was just a big commitment. But I never stopped swimming. I still swam rec and did practices here and there.”
Most of her rec swimming came at Robert Wood Johnson and the YMCA, which still had team competitions.
“That makes it more fun, when you’re actually competing,” South said. ”Swimming really is something to look forward to. Coming to practice, going to meets. It’s great.”
There was never a doubt that South would go out for Hamilton’s swim team when she arrived at high school. As a freshman and sophomore, she swam the 200 free and 200 IM. She did not feel confident enough to do the fly at counties, but finally began doing it this year. She also enjoys doing the 400 and is on the Hornets relay teams.
Ironically, the toughest stroke for her to master in the IM is the breast, which is what her mom and aunt did the best.
“I always tell her we’re going to make a breaststroker out of her,” Laird said with a smile.
South has ways of trying to offset her breast deficiency in the IM.
“That makes it tough, it slows me up a little bit,” she said. “What I try to do is pick it up in the first two strokes and the last stroke, and just go as fast as I can in those to make up the difference.”
South gives Laird lineup flexibility, as she can put her in any event and maintain a high level.
“It depends on what the other team has,” the coach said. “Wherever I need her for a certain meet, I can put her.”
South’s knowledge of strokes makes her an asset in other ways besides swimming.
“She works hard all the time and is a good role model, helping the other kids with strokes and things like that,” Laird said. “Anything you want from her she’s willing to do. It’s a real benefit to have her on the team in all aspects.”
Courtney served as South’s practice partner her first two years, as the two would constantly push each other. This year, she is practicing a lot with the boys, most notably Travis Precop and Valentine Perez.
‘[Swimming] lets me burn off anything that happened during the day.’
“It’s a lot of fun, they push me, they keep me busy,” Shelby said, adding with a laugh. “They may not go about it in the right way or say the right thing but they definitely push me. I can take their sarcasm. Valentine is definitely the most sarcastic guy I know. They give it to me all the time.”
And she gives it back?
“Of course,” South said.
Outside the pool, South plays field hockey and is a member of the National Technical Honor Society, which is a branch of the National Honor Society dealing with business and technology. A business future is not out of her realm. She is also toying with trying lacrosse this spring, and recently applied to be a lifeguard this summer.
She has definite plans to try and swim in college.
“I love swimming,” she said. “It’s an outlet, it gives me something to do. It lets me burn off anything that happened during the day.”
It also allows her to use those leadership qualities to the best of her ability.
Hamilton West junior Shelby South breathes out of the side of her mouth while doing the butterfly against Ewing High Jan. 17, 2017 at The College of New Jersey. (Photo by Suzette J. Lucas.),
