WVSOM medical student coaches young swimmers
LEWISBURG, WV (WVNS) — A student at the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine uses knowledge from his own swim career to coach young swimmers in Greenbrier County.
Matt Dyer, a medical student at the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine (WVSOM), joined a summer league swim team at 6 years old, and now uses what he learned to teach a new generation of swimmers.
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Expected to graduate in May 2024, Dyer has volunteered with the Greenbrier Valley Aquatic Center’s swim team for almost two years.
I thought I had a skill that could be beneficial. It wasn’t just signing up to volunteer in the community, but something I knew I could do well. I have a 20-year-plus history of swimming, at a high level, and now I have to teach at a level with kids who have never swum a day in their lives. I have to learn how to teach, and that’s also valuable as a medical student or resident.
Matt Dyer | West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine medical student
We have loved having him, first as a member and now as a coach. It is cool to have a swimmer of his caliber involved. People love seeing him in the pool, and it’s exciting to see living proof of what these kids on the swim team can achieve if they continue to work hard. Coaches like Matt are imperative to that process.
Darcie McCraw | Aquatic Center General Manager
Matt Dyer- Photo Courtesy: West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine Matt Dyer- Photo Courtesy: West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine Matt Dyer- Photo Courtesy: West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine Matt Dyer- Photo Courtesy: West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine Matt Dyer- Photo Courtesy: West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine Matt Dyer- Photo Courtesy: West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine
As a part of Dyer’s competitive swim career, he put in around 20 hours per week during his four years of undergraduate school for Xavier University’s varsity Division 1 team. During his sophomore year at the Big East Conference Championship, he won the 100- and 200-meter breast stroke, and the 200- and 400-meter medley relay. In his senior year, he had wins again in the 100-meter breast stroke and the 200- and 400-meter medley relay.
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I’ve always loved the water and the idea of being in the water. It’s a completely different medium and you have to move your body in a different way. You have to figure out ways to move through the water faster, which is interesting to me. Swimmers traditionally wake up early for practice and work hard year-round to swim fast about twice a year in races. That work ethic and long-term planning helped me develop motivation that has helped in medical school, too.
Matt Dyer | West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine medical student
While Dyer stopped swimming after graduating college, he got back into swimming once the aquatic center opened. He coaches a group of almost 50 swimmers up to 10 hours a week when he does not have clinical rotation obligations.
Dyer taught kids the basics of swimming when the team was created, such as how to swim the four competitive strokes, how to jump off the starting block, and how to turn in the water. In the past year, once the kids learned the basics, he focused on training, how to swim faster for races, and aerobic and anaerobic energy techniques.
Dyer wants swim practice to be fun for the kids, but he is also preparing them for a statewide meet in Morgantown in the spring.
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For the size of the county, that’s a pretty great number. To have only had this swim program for about two years and have this many kids involved is pretty good. I think this program is only going to grow, and that’s valuable because this is a somewhat isolated area for swimming. We are trying to build this program, and the best way to build it is for kids to want to be there. At the same time, there are kids who are starting to get serious about swimming and want to get faster and better. We want to push them, but there needs to be a balance. With the older kids’ group, we are working hard but we are having fun, too.
Matt Dyer | West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine medical student
With Dyer graduating in May 2024, he will have to leave the kids who he helped get interested in the sport. Once he graduates, there will be six first-year medical students from the WVSOM who will help with the swim team next year.
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