By DIANE GASPER-O’BRIEN
Special to Hays Post
Winning medals at swim meets is old hat for Kendra Clary, who began swimming competitively as a youngster.
These days, Clary – coach of the Hays High School swim teams – is enjoying watching her student-athletes collect the hardware.
But she does admit the most recent medal she was awarded has special meaning.
Clary, who doubles as a Fort Hays State University student, was named coach of the year at the Western Athletic Conference Swimming Championships in Garden City earlier this month.
“I hadn’t even realized they gave out that award,” Clary said. “I was so busy with the meet that when I heard it, I couldn’t believe it.”
Clary’s concentration on her team has paid off in a big way.
The Indians scored in all 12 events at the WAC meet to grab runner-up team honors, the highest conference finish for Hays High in recent years.
“That was really exciting,” Clary said. “The thing I was proudest of was how ever single one of our swimmers contributed to the team score.”
That’s because Clary got her team to buy in to the idea of trying different events this season.
“I can definitely tell a difference with our team this year,” junior Marshall Sook said. “I’m not saying one way of coaching is better than the other. But Kendra coaches in a way to break down our each individual skills and see what we are really good at. This year, we have people doing a different spread of events.”
Even while trying new races, the Indians kept bettering their times this season. That improvement led to a state-qualifying relay team, the first time an HHS relay has qualified for the season finale since 2018.
Sook is the anchor leg on that 200-yard freestyle relay team, whose best time this season was 1 minute, 41 seconds. Leo Hernandez is the only senior on that foursome, so Sook is excited for the future. Other relay members are sophomores Chase Zadina and Karsen Flaska.
Sook said he has personally benefitted from Clary’s philosophy.
For instance, this year, he decided to give the 100-meter butterfly a try and won the first meet he swam it. By the time the WAC meet rolled around, he was convinced that race was one of his new favorite events and placed second at that meet.
“The ’fly is the hardest stroke to do,” Sook said, “but I really like it.”
Clary wasn’t afraid to present her philosophy to the team because she takes this coaching gig seriously – just like she did competing in swimming and track and field in high school.
Clary was born in Wichita and spent her younger years there before moving to the Denver area.
While enjoying success as a freshman and sophomore at George Washington High School in Commerce City, Colo., she started experiencing shoulder problems from overuse.
So she took a break from swimming. Wanting to stay in shape, she decided to go out for track.
Primarily a sprinter in swimming, Clary decided to train for those same kind of events on the track. She had similar success there as she did in the pool.
After graduating from George Washington, she chose to further her education at Fort Hays State. She ran track for two years for the Tigers, helping break the school’s indoor and outdoor 4x400-meter relay records while also winning numerous academic awards.
But she kept being drawn back to the water, so she started coaching the Hays Hurricanes, the local youth swim club.
When Hays High coach Jane Rostrom decided to step aside for this coming season, Clary took over.
“I always stress that the work you do everyday matters,” said Clary, who will also coach the Indian girls’ team this spring.
She will graduate in May with a health and human performance degree, then take a “gap” year from school while applying for occupational therapy programs.
Clary is unsure if she will remain in Hays after graduation.
“If there is an opportunity where I could stay in Hays,” she said, “I’d definitely think about it.”
Until then, Clary is looking forward to a successful girls’ season at Hays High this spring and thinks the Indian boys’ team also has a bright future.
“I think we will have a lot of girls come out this spring,” she said, “and in the future, these guys will bring more with them to the team.”