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When Damascus senior Sarah VanDoren arrived at the pool for the Swarmin' Hornets' first practice four years ago, she wasn't a breaststroker. She was a multifaceted swimmer with good freestyle, butterfly and breaststroke techniques, but she wasn't solely a breaststroker.
But Damascus coach Buzz Maddox needed one. So VanDoren, 17, went to work. Now just four seconds off the Olympic Qualifying 100-meter breaststroke time, VanDoren's four-year progression culminated in a Division I scholarship: On Nov. 18, she signed her National Letter of Intent to swim at Delaware, starting next year.
"When Sarah arrived at Damascus as a freshman, we had a very strong girls team that won the Division II title," Damascus swim coach Evelyn Maddox said. "Our weakness was in breast, and Sarah was a good breaststroker. I placed the girls where we could score the most points and Sarah was such a team player and fine with my decision. Ultimately, I don't think she had tapped her strength in breast. And it made her individual medley that much better."
Though VanDoren has excelled in breaststroke — she won her first Metropolitan Area Swimming and Diving Championship title in the 100 breaststroke last winter — she hasn't lost her edge in freestyle and butterfly. She finished third in the 200 IM at last year's county championships, and seventh in the event at Metros.
Her versatility is what makes her such a commodity.
VanDoren has been pushing toward the top since arriving on the high-school swimming scene four years ago; she finished seventh in the 100 breast at Metros in '06 and third in '07.
But she often flies under the radar, with most of the attention going to swimmers on Montgomery County's Division I teams: Wootton, Walter Johnson, Churchill and the like. Damascus dropped down to Division III this year.
More eyes will be on VanDoren this year, however, as she tries to defend her Metros title.
"At first, I was overwhelmed by being at the top," VanDoren said. "I like coming from the bottom up to beat people. But I just have to tell myself, ‘You're faster. You can do this.' I don't have a huge ego or like to brag, but it's nice to know I'm there."
Maddox added: "Sarah has an unbelievable work ethic. She's open to criticism and change to improve her swimming. She's very unassuming; you'd never know she is the best swimmer on our team. There's no arrogance about her. … I'm sure any Division I coach took note of that in their recruiting."