Swim star overcomes obstacles to join Gator elite

FLORIDA WEEKLY Fitness Together trainer Jamie Swagler helped Tayler Dubrasky, doing pushups, put on 20 pounds of muscle in four months so he would be fit for competition at UF. When Tayler Dubrasky skipped school as a seventh grader to play video games with a friend, his parents' intuition got the best of him. Ironically, that uncomfortable occasion led to Tayler securing a full scholarship to swim at the University of Florida, ranked sixth in the nation.

"I had a sneaking suspicion I better just ask him about it. The writing was just all over his face," said his father Brian Dubrasky, a fireman at the San Carlos Park Fire Department. To keep his son from "going down that road," Mr. Dubrasky made Tayler join the swim team for two months.

"The swim coach pulled us to the side and said, 'Your son has a natural talent for swimming,'" Mr. Dubrasky said, adding, "At the time I thought that was probably something they just said to everybody to keep them in the sport."

But as time went by, others commented on Tayler's talent in the water. Before long, he didn't want to stop swimming. He loved the sense of competition.

"It's kind of addicting when you're constantly dropping time," he said. "You're passing people; people are passing you."

Not only did he continue swimming at Estero High School, where he graduated last spring (and where his sister is now a sophomore and also a competitive swimmer), Tayler went on to win the boys' 500-yard relay state championship in 2007 and to place 47th at the Olympic trials for the 1,500-meter freestyle in Omaha, Neb., last summer.

"It was pretty nerveracking," he recalled. "Definitely the biggest thing I've ever been to. It was a good learning experience."

In four years, he'll be at the ideal point to make a serious bid for the Olympics, according to one of his coaches, Don Henshaw: "With (Tayler) there are no limits. He'll grow bigger, stronger at 21, 22. Then he'll be ready for the next Olympiad."

Tayler had planned to start college last fall, but the coaches at UF said he needed to add weight to his long, lanky frame and points to his SAT score first. To that end, he spent four months at home in Estero, getting in shape physically and academically.

At 6-foot 2-inches and 148 pounds, he arrived at Fitness Together, a South Fort Myers gym that focuses on personal training. Owner LouAnn Good heard his story at a swim meet and agreed to enter Tayler in the "Yes I Can" program for people who could benefit from a personal trainer but can't afford one. The program is sponsored by an anonymous donor.

"It's pretty impressive, a young guy, to do what he does," Ms. Good said.

Jamie Swagler, Tayler's trainer at Fitness Together, agreed to take him on for 36 sessions over four months. In that time, Tayler added nearly 20 pounds of muscle to his Phelpsian frame. (Separate from his sessions with Mr. Swagler, Tayler also added 40 points to his SAT score.)

His diet plan was, "Eat everything in sight," although proteins were encouraged most of all. "I could eat like a million calories," said Tayler, who sometimes had apple pie for breakfast.

At UF in Gainesville as of Saturday, Jan. 3, his plan is to work out for a few hours in the morning and at night, three times per week, and for three hours on Saturday. Plus, he's handling a full course load.

"I think what I'll like best at the University of Florida is, I'll have a bunch of guys at my speed that I'll get to race every day," he said. "I don't like to lose, but I'll still enjoy the race if I get beat fair and square."