South’s Gough finds his place in the pool

In the world of competitive swimming, where the majority of top athletes compete all year, South senior Isaiah Gough’s entry into the sport as a freshman was incredibly late.

“I had never done a sport, and I thought it would be so cool to see how the team is together and how close it would be,” he said. “When we’re in practice, everyone likes each other.”

The Titans’ tight bond is part of the reason Gough, a senior, continues to swim.

Another reason? He discovered he’s talented.

“For me, the most impressive thing about Isaiah is he’s truly a high school swimmer,” South coach Brett Beal said. “He has not swam club before.

“He has moved up the ladder competitively. He’s in the top tier of the 50-yard swimmers in the City League. He was in the top 16 in the state last year.”

Gough, who also swims the 100 free, 100 backstroke and on three relays, swam a pedestrian 32 seconds in the 50-yard freestyle. Given his lack of history in swimming, it was an OK time. He was learning the strokes, how to come off the block and make the turns.

But Gough had goals. Every swimming conversation with his mom, Melissa Mitchell, and sister, Angelique Gomez, centered around dropping his time to 22 seconds.

“The 50 free is the one (race) where the playing field is a little more level,” Beal said. “But at the same time, starts and turns are really a lot of what decides the race. He’s worked really hard to improve all the little things. Strength can get you so far, but after that, you have to put all the pieces together. It’s a bang-bang race. Very little margin for error.”

Gough talked with Beal about how he could improve and increased his workout regimen to include weights and more work in the offseason. He also focused on fine-tuning his strokes.

“I was trying to get stronger,” he said. “From my sophomore year to my junior year, everyone was like, ‘oh my gosh, you got so buff.’ Junior year to senior year, I gained 10 more pounds.”

Gough dropped to 22 seconds as a junior, making his mom cry as she watched in the stands.

He wasn’t satisfied. His goal shifted to 21 seconds. The conversations and workouts became more intense and more frequent.

His mom cried again when he swam the 50 in 21.87 at the South Invitational on Dec. 11.

“He worked so hard, and it’s hard to get any time cut, and when he did, I cried,” Mitchell said. “He worked out really hard when he’s not swimming. He still stays fit. He watches what he eats.

“Seeing how hard he works and seeing him reach that goal. It’s emotional. It’s the best feeling.”

Through the success, Beal has watched for signs of changing attitude. But Gough’s work ethic and humility remained the same.

“He is the best swimmer I’ve had in my 15 years at South, and he’s just so humble about it,” Beal said. “… No. 1, he’s very coachable, he’s really smart and he works really hard. You put those three things together and that kind of adds up to make it possible for him to achieve what he’s been able to achieve.”

There’s a giddiness that invades Gough when he considers his possibilities at the 6A meet in February.

“I look at the state times from last year, and I probably would have gotten second (with the 21.87),” he said. “For me, that’s insane. It’s crazy. I really have a shot.”

The top five in 6A finished under 22 seconds in 2015.

Playing organized sports wasn’t an option for Gough growing up. Mitchell was a young, single mother of two, often working late and studying to be a nurse.

Money was tight and organized sports were out of reach financially.

“We struggled for quite a while,” Mitchell said. “He’s had to be without while his friends had everything. He’s learned a lot of life lessons.”

Even after Gough discovered he had swimming skills and his mom saved to send him to the Haysville swim club, he only competed in the offseason heading into his junior season.

“It was pretty expensive,” said Gough, who plans to join the National Guard after graduation. “I think about it all the time, though, if my parents had put me in some type of club.

“I think I’d be so much better. But I think I’m doing pretty good only swimming four years. Some people swim all their lives, and I’m faster than some of them.”

Beal ponders what could have been, too.

“Year-round swimming is an expensive proposition,” Beal said. “If he had had access to it, it is scary to think how good he could be.”

This story was originally published January 14, 2016 at 11:54 AM with the headline "South’s Gough finds his place in the pool."