Siblings Make NHS Swimming & Dive Team A Family Affair

By Eileen Byrnes

The Newtown High School boys’ swimming and diving team is in a family way… sort of.

With five pairs of siblings, about a quarter of the roster is genetically connected to a teammate. Three of the pairs are a senior-freshman combination, but for the two captains sharing the roster with their sibling it is nothing new since they were on the team with them last year as well.

This is the third year junior Tony Fragoso has been on the team with Chris, who is a year older and one of the team’s captains. In his brother he has found a friend, a confidant, a coach, and a cheering section.

 “I look up to him with the swimming,” Tony said. “You can look up to your brother, and if you are doing poorly you have someone to talk to who understands.”

Chris, who never swam competitively before his freshman year, said he and Tony have spent time talking about the team and anticipating this year.

“My brother and I have improved a lot together. The improvement represents the team in general and what it has gone through over the years,” Chris said. “We are enjoying it a lot. It is what we have dreamed of.”

In addition to being on the swim team together, the Fragoso brothers are both accomplished violinists and have performed in concerts together.

For Anthony and Luke Fiore swimming together is nothing new. Now a senior (and a team captain) and sophomore, respectively, they have been on the same team since their days on the Torpedoes, the Parks and Recreation team.

Allison Jagoe, a senior diver, said when her sister, Jillian, started her freshman year at the high school, she strongly encouraged her to join the team. The elder Jagoe said she enjoys the camaraderie and the competition and wanted to share that experience. She also noted since they play different sports, it was the only opportunity to do something together in the high school before she graduates.

(Girls who participate in a fall activity are eligible to be on the boys’ team. Boys, who generally post faster swimming times than their female counterparts, however, are not permitted on the girls’ team.)

“I love having her on the team,” Allison said with enthusiasm and a wide smile. “I have had so much fun being on the swim team and going to pasta parties. It’s nice to share that fun with her.”

Jillian said her sister’s enthusiasm for the team helped seal the deal about her participating in this winter sport. And being on the team is all Allison said it would be, Jillian observed, adding that getting to spend time with her sister is an added bonus.

“I really like it because we get to spend a lot of time together,” Jillian said.

Allen and Michael Hubbard have also used this time on the team to bond a bit more before Allen goes to college next year. Michael, a freshman, said one of the things he likes most about being on the team is spending more time with his brother.

Freshman Daniel O’Connor said he was not nervous the first day of swim practice in November because with a family member on the team for several years, he already knew what to expect and through his brother he already knew members of the team. He also said it was nice knowing his brother, James, was keeping an eye out for him.

“It’s cool that I have a senior brother, otherwise I would be targeted as a freshman,” Daniel said. “I remember one time one of the older kids was giving me a little bit of a hard time and he stuck up for me,” Daniel said.

James not only looks out for his younger brother, but he also gives him pointers on technique and advice on his stroke. Earlier in the season when Daniel was struggling with his flip turns, James made sure to work with him on ways to improve.

“It’s been fun helping him out,” James said with pride.

Allen has also given Michael advice on how to improve his swimming and shave his time.

“I give him some pointers after his race,” the oldest Hubbard child said. “It’s exciting to watch his progress,”

Both Hubbard boys swim the breaststroke but they have not competed against each other and Allen said he hopes it stays that way. He said he would rather cheer for his brother than swim against him.

The Fiores feel the same way. Among the fastest on the team, they were part of a 400-yard relay team that broke the pool record during the first meet of the season. They like swimming together in relays. Competing against each other, however, is another story. They have been put up against each other a few times in the past two years and while the pair is known to be brothers of few words, they were both strong in their opinion that they want practice to be the only time they share the water.

But Luke noted that since he and his brother swim the same strokes, he wants to beat his times.

“When I’m a senior I can make sure I was as good as he was,” Luke said. Anthony noted that in some events he already is.

Anthony said he likes knowing there will be another Fiore on the team after he graduates.

“It’s like having a legacy on the team,” he said.

The Fragosos swim different stokes, so there is little chance of competing against each other. In a recent meet at New Fairfield, the brothers were half of the 200-yard medley relay that placed first.

With a family member on the team, there is always someone cheering you on. At a recent meet, Tony was very vocal in his support for his brother. When Tony swims, Chris makes sure he stands on the pool deck at the lane where his brother is swimming so he can encourage him to swim faster and stronger.

The O’Connors also root for each other.

“It’s nice having someone to cheer for and to go home with and talk to about the success,” James said.

Allison said when the lineup is posted at the beginning of each swim meet she makes sure to check when Jillian is swimming. Jillian anxiously waits for the scores to be posted after each of Allison’s dives.

“When I get done diving she always congratulates me and asks what my score was,” Allison said. “It’s nice to have that support.”

Jillian said she enjoys watching her sister dive and always knows what Allison is thinking after a dive.

“We get along really well together,” Allison said of her sister. “We are really good friends.”

Many of the seniors said because the siblings who swim for the Nighthawks are friends as well as relatives, the team as a whole is a tight-knit group.

“If you have a brother, you are automatically associated with the team,” Chris said. “Socially you are brought into the team a lot faster.”

Allison said because of siblings, especially the three freshman-senior pairs, there did not seem to be a division between the upper and lower classes.

“It makes it a really good connection between seniors and freshmen. With a lot of siblings it is really easy to be united as one team,” she said. “It unites everyone.”

Coach Matt Childs agrees. He said he noticed that the team has seemed to gel faster than in past years and clearly attributes it to the family connections.

“They have the feeling they are a part of the team from the start,” Childs said of the younger siblings.

Childs said while it may not be unusual to have a collection of family members on a club team that incorporates a larger age span, it is not common in high school.

“It’s pretty remarkable,” he said.