Tuesday, September 17, 2024
BY RICH PALZEWIC
CORRESPONDENT
Alec Jeffers is a senior member of the Bay Port boys’ swim team. Alec was a key member in the Pirates’ three consecutive Fox River Classic Conference championships and is a three-time WIAA state qualifier.
Jeffers plans to study kinesiology while in college and his favorite stroke is the backstroke. He finished 10th a few weeks ago in the 100 Backstroke at the WIAA state meet in a time of 52.87 – a Bay Port school record.
Name: Alec Jeffers
Parents: Steve & Keri
School: Bay Port
Sport: swimming
Twitter: @alec_jeffers
Have you ever done any other high school sports? “I used to do cross-country in middle school, but I’m going to try tennis spring – why not?”
Have you ever played tennis? “Not too much – just with my friends.”
How about a sport you wish you could have done? “Soccer. My (sophomore) brother (Brock) plays so I play with him a lot.”
Do you come from a sports/swim family? “My dad was a swimmer and played football at Green Bay West. My mom played basketball and was a cheerleader. Brock plays soccer and wrestles.”
Are you ready for the grind of four years of swim to be done? “I’ll still swim in college and I wouldn’t do it there if I wanted it to be done. I’m not ready to quit it yet, but after another four years in college I think I will be ready to be done.”
Talk about winning three consecutive FRCC championships! “That’s pretty special to me. It’s cool how the whole team contributed to that.”
Let’s discuss state. “I made it to state my sophomore, junior and senior years. Individually I went for the backstroke my sophomore and senior years, the 200 Medley Relay all three years and the 400 Freestyle Relay this year.”
What was it like swimming for your dad? That had to be a unique experience. “It was nice because he knew me better than any other coach could. I’m interested in coaching for the future. He’s a tough coach.”
I suppose he took it easy on you? “No (laughing). If anything he was harder on me. I think he wanted to prove to others that he wasn’t treating me any different than anyone else.”
Why the backstroke? “It’s nice that you get to breathe 90 percent of the time!”
What’s one stroke you’re not good at? “The breaststroke – I’m pigeon toed so it’s really hard for me to do that. My dad couldn’t do a legal breaststroke now, either.”
Do you have a most memorable sports moment? “Winning sectionals this year – last year was great, too, but I swam better this year so it makes it more enjoyable.”
A most embarrassing one? “Last year at the Terror Relays my goggles fell off when I dove in the pool for a freestyle event. I stopped and the official thought I touched the bottom – it cost us the meet. It wasn’t funny back then. I’m not sure why I didn’t just swim without them. My dad wasn’t real happy. At first he was defending me with the officials, but then he was like, ‘Dude, why would you do that?’ This year when we won those same relays I was presented with the plaque.”
You’ve mentioned a few times that last year wasn’t your best year. “My dad says I just had a long sophomore slump going into my junior year. I’m not sure – at the end of the season I just kind of fell apart.”
What is something about you that most people wouldn’t know? “I like to fish and go on the lake in the summer.”
Name a singer you’re afraid to admit you like? “Ed Sheeran.”
Which teammate should have his own reality TV show? “Ben Storby because he is such high energy.”
What are some of your hobbies? "I listen to music a lot – maybe some Ed Sheeran – and watching my brother’s sports.”
Tiny house or tree house? “Tiny house.”
Fourth of July or Halloween? “Fourth of July.”
Dinner or the movies? “Dinner.”
Fruits or veggies? “Fruits.”
Winter or summer? “Summer.”
What three words best describe you? “Motivated, respectful, reserved.”
How do you want to be remembered at Bay Port? “As a motivated person that when they wanted to accomplish something would do it. Also as someone who didn’t treat anyone poorly – just as a nice person.”
Favorites
Food: burritos
Subject: science
Athlete: (Olympic backstroker) Ryan Murphy
App: Twitter
Board game: Werewolf
Notes: Suggestions for the Senior Spotlight can be submitted to Rich via email (palzewic@hotmail.com) or by Twitter (@richpalzewic). All spotlights can be found online at thepress.media. Check out last week’s spotlight on Bay Port basketball player Cordell Tinch.
