El Toro's Roy inspires with personal best in and out of pool

IRVINE- Josh Roy arrived at the pool Wednesday afternoon ready for the two biggest races of his swim season.

Up first was the junior varsity 50-yard freestyle. The El Toro junior stepped onto his starting block, staggered his feet, bent his knees and grabbed the block.

At the sound of the beep, Roy dove into the crystal-blue water at the William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center.

He soon emerged from his streamline and began racing toward the first wall.

"You can do it, Josh!" his mother, Connie, shouted from behind the starting block.

Three years ago, Roy's parents would not have imagined the scenes that unfolded Wednesday.

Their son, who was born with Down Syndrome, competed in his second consecutive Sea View League preliminary meet and his third league preliminary overall.

"I didn't know how far it would go," Connie said last week.

When Roy was a freshman, his parents asked El Toro aquatics coach Matt Tilton if their son could condition with the boys water polo team.

"Sure," Tilton replied.

The parents' goal for water polo was to get their son some exercise. But by the spring, Roy had joined the swim team.

"He just took to it," Roy's father, Tom, said. "He loves it."

Roy didn't have to start from scratch as a swimmer.

As a toddler, he took private lessons with Conni Pomeroy, a family friend from church and the former diving coach at UC Irvine.

The training continued - free of charge - over eight summers.

"We owe her a lot," Connie said of Pomeroy.

Roy was swimming by 4 and began competing at Special Olympics at age 8.

The foundation has served him well. At El Toro, he is assigned the same 2,500-yard, daily workouts as the rest of his teammates.

"He's definitely a strong kid," El Toro junior varsity coach Dennis Shaffer said earlier this week.

Roy has some strong athletic bloodlines. His sister, Natalie, was a standout hurdler at Mission Viejo and now runs for Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

His parents are teachers. They help Roy balance private therapies with his participation in other sports such as baseball, soccer and snow skiing.

At swim meets this spring, Roy usually competed in the exhibition or non-scoring level. But his races hardly went unnoticed.

"Every meet, he gets the biggest applause," El Toro coach Jeff Grosse said. "I wish they cheered for me like that."

Roy's work ethic and enthusiasm have made him one of the most popular swimmers at El Toro, which boasts the top-ranked boys team in Orange County.

He rarely missed practice this spring and added the butterfly and backstroke to his list of strokes. He also improved his stamina in the 100 free and critiqued his technique on videotape.

"He's out here working hard just like everyone else," said junior Tommy O'Connell, who also is El Toro's standout water polo goalie.

"We all think he's doing a good job."

Roy's enthusiasm is contagious.

"He inspires me to try hard because I know he tries hard," freshman Bryan Le Noir said of Roy, who has been voted most inspirational swimmer the past two seasons.

While competitive, Roy also has a lighter side.

He is quick to give teammates a fist bump or encouraging word. He can be especially vocal with his teammates on relays.

"My guys," Roy said of El Toro's swimmers.

Roy saved his best for last Wednesday.

In his heat of the 50 freestyle, he dropped almost half a second from his season best and touched in 50.63 seconds.

Roy finished well shy of qualifying for today's JV finals, but one never would have known by watching him. He kissed his mother before and after the race.

In the 100 freestyle, Roy was even better. Behind a strong kick and his windmill strokes, he shaved almost 5½ seconds from his season best in clocking a 1:55.17.

"That just shows how hard he works every day in practice," Shaffer said.

Roy again was well short of qualifying for finals, but that didn't faze him.

As his time drop was announced, he hoisted his fist above his head and shouted, "I got a new record!" toward his coaches.

Roy got out of the pool, hugged his mother, a media member and Shaffer, whom he calls "my friend."

"Amazing," Connie said. "(It shows) how far he's come."

>> Read more in Boys Swimming

Contact the writer: dalbano@ocregister.com