Jackson Borchers wants to be pushed and the 11-year-old swimmer has shown he is up to the challenge.

Borchers has been a member of the Aberdeen Swim Club for about four years and will be in action during the annual High Point Swim Meet this weekend at the Aberdeen Aquatic Center. He says the coaches are what he enjoys the most.

“Especially how they push you and want you to do better,” Borchers said.

Neil Romney, who is in his second year as the Stingrays coach, enjoys it when swimmers show up to compete.

“The kids come and work hard and love to embrace challenge, and that’s always gratifying,” Romney said.

Borchers is one who has embraced the challenges, whether it is during practices or meets, and says that he has a favorite aspect of practice.

“What the coach does to push you and how much they challenge you to do better,” Borchers said.

He also enjoys a certain part of the swim meets when it is time to compete.

“Probably the adrenaline rush like right before you’re about to race and you get so excited,” Borchers said.

Borchers participates in eight different events during competitions, and says that the 100-meter butterfly race is his favorite.

“I love the challenge of the fly and the strength you need to do it and push yourself,” Borchers said.

Borchers says he has learned from role models throughout his time at the Swim Club, including fellow swimmers, who have helped him improve his skills as a swimmer.

“I look up to Joe Grebner because I’m in the same practice group and he’s like the top one there,” Borchers said.

Borchers said Grebner’s older brother, Dan, has also been a big help in the pool helping with certain techniques.

“Working on my start and my turns especially,” Borchers added.

With his coaches, mentors, and teammates helping him, Borchers hopes to one day achieve a big dream in his life.

“I have had this one for like a long time. I’ve always dreamed of making it to like the Olympics,” Borchers said.

His coach sees a lot potential in the young swimmer, and says he could go a long way.

“Jackson was quite advanced when I got here, and that’s a tribute to his own ambition and his own self-discipline and drive,” Romney said. “But he has continued that and actually upped the ante. He comes to practice consistently, he uses his time wisely, he pushes himself, (and) he engages.”

Romney says that even though Borchers is one of the younger swimmers in his group, he knows what is going on and understands the terminology that goes along with the sport of swimming.

“Everything he does says I’m here and I’m 100% engaged,” Romney said. “There’s nothing more fun than to coach swimmers who are 100% engaged. There’s no limit on his potential.”

Although there is plenty of hard work done behind the scenes, the swimmers also get the chance to compete, such as the High Point Meet Friday through Sunday. The meet will feature around 500 swimmers from around the region, and Romney says he and his team have been making preparations for the meet.

“Because this is really a mid-season meet, we don’t rest them particularly,” Romney said. “We might do a little more work on start and turns and some of the polishing aspects; talk about pacing and breathing strategies and those sorts of things. We’re working on race skills and race-applicable physical capacities every day, so that aspect doesn’t change.”

Romney expects to see considerable improvement from his swimmers at the meet, and Borchers has the same goal in mind for himself..

“To beat my times from the last meet I swam (in), and to PR,” Borchers said.