ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, March 13, 1997 TAG: 9703140075
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: N-8 EDITION: METRO KEEPING HIS DREAMS
THE instant his body struck the water, Steve Cromer knew something was seriously wrong.
Twenty-one feet is a long way to fall; Cromer, a promising young swimmer from Salem, had difficulty floating back up to the surface of the Indiana University diving pool.
Cromer and his friends knew they probably shouldn't have been doing "cannonballs" off the towering platform, but it was the last day of swim camp - a day with a strong tradition of goofing around.
"I knew it was bad because I had trouble moving," said Cromer, who still winces as he describes the July 1994 incident that nearly ended his involvement with swimming, a sport that has consumed his interest since he was 9.
"I crawled over to the other pool thinking I could swim it off; but it hurt too bad, so I crawled into the locker room. One of the trainers looked at it and said I had pulled a muscle and would be OK in a couple of days."
The pain did go away briefly for Cromer, who went on to compete in the Virginia Junior Olympics that month as a member of the Carter Center Aquatics Marlins. But, in August, the pain returned, leaving him virtually immobile.
"I was real depressed that year," said Cromer, who was diagnosed with stress fractures in two vertebrae of his lower back. "I thought swimming was over for me. I believed it, and it was a hard pill for me to swallow."
Cromer, then a sophomore at Salem High School, was confined to a hard plastic body brace that extended from mid-torso to the top of his thigh. The awkward brace included a metal rod that ran down his left leg, restraining movement to 10 percent.
Just going to school was difficult. To swim again, he would have to endure months of physical therapy.
"We worked him hard," said physical therapist Wendy Lucas of Lucas Therapies, where Cromer spent eight hours a week for nearly four months. "But he's a good kid. A lot of times, once the initial pain goes away, it's hard to keep driving. But Steve really kept at it."
Lucas said an important part of Cromer's therapy were exercises he could perform in the pool to increase flexibility and endurance. Rehabilitating him to swim was a primary concern of his parents, Stephen and Cathy Cromer.
"So much of his self-esteem was tied to swimming," Cathy Cromer said. "I felt as a parent we were dealing with as much a mental problem as a physical problem. When I realized that, I knew my goal was to see if we could get him back to swimming competitively."
Cromer was given the OK to swim in March 1995. He returned stronger, with more intensity than ever, and was named the Marlins' Outstanding Swimmer for 1995-96. Cromer, who has compiled a 3.5 grade-point average, was also named U.S. Swimming Scholastic All-America for 1996.
"They told me not to expect too much, but I came back better," said Cromer, who will test his skills against the nation's best March 18-22 at the Junior National Swimming Championships in Orlando, Fla.
The meet is crucial for Cromer, who is trying to earn college scholarships. He has taken recruiting trips to Virginia Tech and South Carolina, which offered him a partial academic scholarship, as did Ohio State.
The NCAA limits the number of recruiting trips an athlete may take to five. Cromer has scheduled visits to Texas Christian and Kentucky following Junior Nationals, and said he'll wait until after the meet to choose his fifth school.
Marlins coach Jay Yarid said a strong performance at Junior Nationals could boost Cromer's stock with college coaches.
"Coaches will compare his times from last year," Yarid said. "And some of the colleges that have expressed interest in him are waiting to see how much his times drop from last year to either offer him a scholarship or up the ante."
Junior Nationals pit the top swimmers in the nation who are 19 and younger against each other. Based on qualifying times, approximately 1,000 boys and 1,000 girls will be invited to compete in Senior Nationals in the late summer, Yarid said.
Cromer has qualified for six events, but rules limit him to competing in four. He will swim the mile freestyle, 1,000-yard free, 500-yard free and 200-yard backstroke.
"I want to do well and qualify for Senior Nationals," Cromer said. "I think I have a great shot to do it. If I get it, it will boost my college outlook. If I don't, it's not going to matter that much because that goal is just a steppingstone. If I miss that step, I'll still have a chance at my long-term goal."
Cromer said his main objective will be qualifying for the NCAA Swimming Championships after he starts college. He also has his sights set on the U.S. Trials for the 2000 Olympics.
"The Olympics is more of a dream than a goal. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I've still got a lot of developing to do physically," said Cromer, who is 5-foot-9 and 130 pounds. "By my sophomore year in college, I should know if I can make it."
Yarid said Cromer's versatility and determination are two qualities working to his advantage as he strives to accomplish his goals.
"It's a selling point to colleges that he missed a year of training and has come back so strong," Yarid said. "They'll try and anticipate how much more he can improve in college."
Cromer admits at least one good thing has come out of his injury.
"It helped me realize swimming is only one part of my life," he said, "but it's a part I should enjoy while I can."
LENGTH: Long : 101 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: DON PETERSEN/THE ROANOKE TIMES. Salem High School seniorby CNBSteve Cromer will compete for the Carter Center Aquatics Marlins at
the Junior National Swimming Championships in Orlando, Fla.,
starting Tuesday. color.