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No Comments [ Add Comment ]Manser a state champion, bad back and all
By STEPHANIE CHAMBERSViewmont senior swimmer perseveres
BOUNTIFUL -- Pain is part of sport. It's a demon that champions subdue and master in order to go higher, faster, stronger. Pain is something Melissa Manser knows a little too well.
Manser, a state champion swimmer for Viewmont High School, has dealt with back pain from childhood injuries her whole career.
Last year, it got bad. So bad, Manser took half the season off, but still managed to finish off with a first place in the 200-yard individual medley and a second place in the 100 butterfly at the state 5-A meet.
"When I arch my back it really hurts," said Manser. "It's been hard because I do butterfly and I arch my back in that."
Manser said that last year, her back pain was about eight or nine on a scale of 1-10 for most of the season.
She worked through it, even after a scary car accident this past summer in which her car hit the dividers on both sides of the freeway.
"We kind of joke about it and say it knocked my back into place," said Manser. "It hurt at the time, but I don't think it set me back as much as I thought it would."
After a few weeks off, Manser was back in the pool.
"This year it's been so much better," she said. "It still gives me problems, and sometimes there's really bad days where I can't swim that day, but the majority of the time it's about a four (on the pain scale). But I swim through the pain.
Manser only mentions her back pain as an aside and in answer to specific questions. It's not the heart of the matter for her. She's more focused on state meet possibilities, or why swimming is the sport for her, or what drives her past the pain to help her succeed.
"I've had rough days, where I just can't do it, but in the back of my mind, I just imagine the state meet, or some big meet, and I just tell myself, 'I'm not going to let them beat me because of one practice I didn't do.' During a race the difference between first and second is so small. It's just a click, not even half a second off the blocks. It's just kind of mind blowing -- one little stroke and one little thing can throw you off and make you not have a good race. It's just kind of in the back of my mind, 'They're not going to beat me, just cause I didn't push through it.' "
Manser started her swim career when her older sister was swimming.
"My sister used to swim when she was little, and I did dance and gymnastics, and one day my mom just threw me in the pool and said "Swim!" And I've been doing it ever since."
Manser started club swimming at age 7 and hasn't stopped. In addition to the long high school swim season, she swims for coach Mark Gray and the Steiner Youth Aquatic Club year-round.
During her high school years, Manser has captured all but one of Viewmont's school records (held by best friend Brianna Moore in the 100 breaststroke), holds three region records, has been a state champion in the 100 butterfly and in the 200 individual medley, has All-American swim times, and has qualified for junior nationals.
She said that along the way her coaches and parents have been there helping her, and she's also pushed herself.
"I've just always had a lot of motivation, and I hate losing. I hate it," said Manser. "And swimming is a sport that you have to work hard every day, and you can't miss a practice or you're going to be dead the next day. You get out of swimming what you put into it. I've worked really hard throughout my whole career."
"She's just a very competitive girl," said Viewmont coach Scott Balling. "She'll find a way of winning in her races when it counts. She's taken on other events and she's said, 'Oh don't worry about it. I'll win it.' She's not afraid to take on challenges and she has confidence in her abilities and she usually finds a way to win. She's really tough mentally that way."
Manser has signed with the BYU swim team, and said she can't imagine a life without swimming and the lessons it's taught her.
"Swimming is just something I do," she said. "I can't not do it. I learned to work through pain and whatever troubles I'm having at the time, whether it's just frustration, or just being so tired you don't think you can go any further. And I think that's what gets you to a higher level, working through pain, obstacles or frustration, or whatever comes."
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