"It's Not Hard, It's difficult": The Story of Ray Lease"
Perched like a giant willow tree in his spot on the pool deck of the Brandywine YMCA pool, the moist dew from his five mile run resting right below his slicked back hair still on his forehead, a "Just as I suspected" look on his face confirmed by his wooly bugger of a mustache, with his collared shirt tucked into his beige Dockers, and his stop watch clutched in his hand busy counting seconds: this is Ray Lease.
It's hard to imagine a swim coach who, himself, has never tested out the waters. "When my kids got involved in swimming, I was fascinated by the sport. So when the YMCA needed an assistant coach, I took the job." Starting out with relatively no experience with swimming, Ray worked hard and long to learn the ways of the sport, commiting hours of his time reading swimming books and watching swimming videos. After only four years of inexperienced coaching, Ray took the job as the head coach of the BCY swim team in 1991.
As the years progressed, so did his coaching expertise. He started with a team of 80 sinking swimmers, who had never heard the words "national championship", and boosted the team to a count of 130 swimmers. Now, every year, at least 50% of his team qualifies for the Eastern Pennsylvania YMCA districts. Under his reign, the team has set two Pennsylvania state records, qualified a peak of 23 national team members, and led Jess Barnes to a National title in the 200 backstroke.
Dog may be man's best friend, but Ray's best friend is his stop watch. Even when not on the pool deck, one can spot the two black strings hanging out of his pocket, like a gun in its holster, ready to sharp shoot a time in seconds notice. Just like any super hero, Ray's stop watch gives him magical powers. One of the greatest stop watch moments was at the 2003 Eastern Pennsylvania YMCA districts. When one of his swimmers, Francis Richey, reached the 50 yard mark of his 100 backstroke, Ray drew his watch, shot one psychic reading, and proclaimed "55.39"; the exact time Francis proceeded to capture.
Ray has a hard time fishing out a conversation from his vast pools of swimming knowledge. Ray might not talk much, or audibly, but when he does people listen. He is one of the few people who can control the wild animals of the ten and under age groups in practice.
The only time you will catch Ray like a fish out of water is at the swim team meetings which occur biannually. This is when his true genius is expelled; all the things that he has been brewing up in his brain get a chance to leak out. At these meetings, some of his famous quotes have been released; such as "It's not hard, it's difficult." To most, this might sound like he's just churning water, but to Ray, this is the definition of competitive swimming. Ray stresses that mental toughness is the most crucial component a swimmer can posses, more than strength speed or stroke mechanics. He believes that every swimmer can push their limits and break boundaries to reach the next level.
As not many other swim coaches do, Ray practices what he preaches. In a normal day, he leaves his house for work at 4:30 a.m., works until 3:00 p.m., runs at least five miles in the gym, and coaches until 8:00 p.m.. That's working an 18-hour day, Monday through Friday, and sitting on the humid, heated pool deck for 24 hours a week. That isn't counting the swim meets on the weekends, which take an average of six hours and a good amount of "mental toughness" to finish.
After hours of practice in the pool, days of endless swim meets, and years of time in the same program, a bond is made between Ray and his swimmers which is hard to submerge. One of his former swimmers remembers, "Even though Ray does not express his emotion's a lot, you know he cares. When I come back to visit him on the holidays, and I see his mustached smile spread from ear to ear, I know that we still have that special bond." "One of the amazing things about Ray is that he remembers all of his swimmers times for years. He can tell me my times from when I swam with him 10 years ago," states Ray's former swimmer and current assistant coach, Sarah Callaway. Maybe Ray's companionship is the reason why 10 of his former swimmers pursued coaching careers of their own.
Who knows what the future will hold for Ray, another national champion, another group of fast swimmers, some lifelong companions, or a new stop watch? "I plan to keep coaching at the YMCA as my retirement job. Every time a new group of kids comes up, I end up getting too close and wouldn't be able to leave." One thing is certain for Ray; it's not going to be hard, but it is going to be difficult.
By Brandon Hargraves