Practicing alongside Olympians was a real eye opener for Jen Leckie.

The North Bay Y Titans swimmer participated in the Pan Pacific Trials in early April.

“I remember one day during warm-up - I was doing a 25 fast to warm up, and right behind me was Brent Hayden and I was just like in awe because I do this every day and then I see someone that is so powerful, he was huge, probably like 6’4” standing right behind me doing the same thing as I’m doing so it was cool to see that and then to watch,” Leckie said after a morning swim with her Titans team.

It was a big competition for Leckie getting a chance to share the pool with some of the fastest swimmers on the planet.

The breaststroke specialist failed to qualify for the finals but Titans swim coach Cliff Noth believes it was a tremendous learning experience.

“She has hit a plateau in the past year and working hard to get through it,” said Noth.

“This was part of her working through it. It was important for her to see that she is still a top breaststroker in this country.”

Leckie is filling the big Titans flippers left by Dominique Bouchard who swam for the University of Missouri after accepting an NCAA scholarship from the American university last summer. The two girls have a tight bond and both were excited to be competing at the Pan Pacific Trials.

“She’s like my big sister,” admitted the grade 11 West Ferris student.

“Like any little sister, I do what she does and try to follow. It’s just too bad she’s so far away now.” Bouchard feels the same way about her former teammate. She’s excited to be seeing her “little sister” again when she returns home at the end of her school year.

“She is a great positive influence and a great teammate,” Bouchard said about her younger swimming sibling. “I have missed her (Jen) a lot this year and I am really excited to get back to the Y and swim with her this summer!”

New Role Model
With Bouchard moving on the U.S. College, Leckie has become the new female swimming role model for the up and coming Titans swimmers. Bouchard isn’t surprised. “She is such an amazing person,” Bouchard said.

“Jen accepts everyone and is always there for a helping hand. She is a great positive influence and she is a great teammate.”

Coach Noth believes Leckie is leaving a great impression.

“She would never admit that she is a role model, she is not like that,” said Noth.

“She is way too modest to think that people look up to her, she is just Jen. Since Dom left, she has really stepped up to fill that void and done an amazing job with the younger kids. She is a quiet leader but is also quick to make sure that people stay in line and pull their weight. She is a great team leader she leads by her hard work in each practice and by how she interacts so well with the younger swimmers.”

NCAA or CIS Swimming Aspirations

With another year of high school remaining, Leckie is hoping to work hard in the classroom and at the pool so she can be the next Titan moving on to bigger and better things at the college level.

“All the best swimmers are in the NCAA and I’ve heard so many great things about it, I just need that good change and I hope I can get in there,” said Leckie whose father Mike went to Harvard on an NCAA Hockey Scholarship.

Bouchard knows from experience the next few months can be challenging.

“She is a very hard worker in and out of the pool and she never gives up,” said Bouchard.

“I know she has had some tough times in the past year, but she never gave up! I wish her all the best of luck going into the recruiting period. It’s going to be hard to make a decision, but I know that when she makes that decision it will be the best decision of her life. I know it was for me.”