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Morrison Well-Rounded

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By CLIFF GILL Tribune correspondent

The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 14, 2008

LAND O' LAKES - Like most 10-year-old boys, Brad Morrison liked to participate in sports. He played baseball, football and soccer.

His parents enrolled him with the Land O' Lakes Lightning, a summer club swim team.

Morrison progressed quickly, as did his techniques and times.

"Swimming came naturally to me," he said. "It was just something that clicked. It felt right, natural. I started winning races against kids who had been swimming since they were 4 or 5 years old."

Within a year, his time in the 100-yard backstroke qualified him for the U.S. Junior Olympic team.

For the next few years, he continued swimming while playing other sports. He was a starting running back and linebacker for Pine View Middle School's football team.

At 12, his parents transferred him to Tampa Bay Aquatics, a year-round club team that was more competitive. A year later, he again qualified for the Junior Olympics in the 100- and 200-yard backstroke. Two years later, he was forced to focus on swimming after he suffered a severe knee injury while riding his dirt bike.

As a freshman at Land O Lakes High, Morrison had the second-fastest time in the backstroke on the varsity swim team. He was also part of 200-yard medley relay and swam in the 200 and 500 freestyle events. He won the district competition in each of those events.

During the summer before his sophomore year, he participated in Tampa Bay Aquatics' "Death Camp." Monday through Saturday, he would arrive at 5 a.m. and begin an assortment of tasks: two hours of swimming, then a 30-minute break, followed by an hour of conditioning. After a 90-minute lunch break, he would swim for another two hours.

Morrison estimates that he burned 4,000 to 5,000 calories each day. Among the more unusual training exercises was the bucket drill. With a 5-gallon bucket attached to his body by a rope, Morrison was required to swim 25-yard sprints - eight times. Another exercise was the assistance drill, with a coach pulling him with a bungee cord.

The training paid off.

As a sophomore, Morrison finished third in the 100 backstroke at the state competition. He place 10th in the state in the 500 freestyle. He was also a member of the 200 relay that captured sixth place in the state.

Because of school overcrowding, Morrison was transferred to Sunlake High the following year. His new school had only five members on the boys swim team. As a junior, Morrison went undefeated in every meet he participated in against Pasco County schools. At the Sunshine Athletic Conference meet, his 200 freestyle time of 1:49:48 set a record. He returned to state and again took third place in the 100 backstroke. He also placed eighth in the 200 freestyle.

This year, Morrison was introduced to Jason Bowes, his new coach at Tampa Bay Aquatics. Bowes, a former coach of Olympic champion Michael Phelps, took the team to Florida Gulf Coast University for seven days of training. Daily drills lasted from 7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

At this year's competition, Morrison won the state title in the 100 backstroke with a time of 51.87, a personal best.

"Winning the state championship was such a relief, because I had been so close the past two years, finishing third both my sophomore and junior years," he said. "I spent more than five hours a day all summer long training and now feel that all the time training has paid off. It is a great feeling being Sunlake High School's first-ever state champion."

Sunlake's principal, Angela Stone, praised Morrison for his efforts.

"Brad is an outstanding young man," Stone said. "He set this goal for himself and did everything within his power to reach it. I asked him the day he left to swim if he was going to win it this year, and without hesitation he replied, 'Yes ma'am, I am.' And he did."

Morrison is also a champion in the classroom.

He has a 3.5 grade-point average and takes an honors course in government/economics. He qualified for dual enrollment in English at the Pasco-Hernando Community College campus at Sunlake. He has taken an Advanced Placement class in calculus and an honors class in physics. He has earned a varsity letter in academics all four years (minimum 3.5 GPA). He recently scored 1,140 on the SAT. With his grueling practice schedule, he typically gets home at 8 p.m. After dinner, he does homework until 11 or 11:30.

"Education has always been important," Morrison said. "My parents won't let me go to practice if I fall behind in homework or school."

Sunlake English teacher Tracy Gandy believes Morrison possesses many admirable qualities.

"I was Brad's English honors teacher last year, and I had the pleasure of encouraging him to challenge himself on dry land the same way he does in the pool," said Gandy. "Brad is an extremely dedicated young man, and he is diligent in his studies. One of the most amazing qualities he possesses is his humility. We would hear the morning announcements during class, and throughout swim season, his name was mentioned on a daily basis. He never flaunted his successes."

Sunlake Exceptional Student Education chair David Pike added: "I recently attended a late-season swim meet where the other team didn't show up, therefore forfeiting. The Sunlake swim and dive team used the opportunity to hold a 'practice' meet. Most swimmers swam well, but many were just going through the motions without the competition being there. Not Brad. He swam as if he was in the Olympics - non-stop, pure athletic effort."

Morrison's list of volunteer activities is also impressive. He coaches flag football in Land O Lakes, volunteers at Tampa Bay Bucs games by working the concession stand to raise money for Tampa Bay Aquatics and volunteers at the Republican Party headquarters to encourage people to vote. During the summer, he volunteers at Hand in Hand Academy (K-4), where he gives his time as a custodian, handyman, babysitter and landscaper.

"It is rare to have the talent, intelligence, athleticism and modesty built into one young man the way Brad is," Pike said.

Teachers, coaches: If you would like to nominate an outstanding student-athlete to be featured in an upcoming In The Community article, contact Cliff Gill at reportercliffgill@yahoo.com or (727) 860-4903.

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