LES MOORE COOLS OFF, HEATS UP THE POOL

Age: 18

High school: American Heritage

College: University of Tampa

WRITTEN BY SHARON ROBB

Les Moore was just looking for a way to stay cool.

“I have bad problems dealing with the heat,” Moore explained. “When I played soccer I would be as red as a cherry. I tried tennis and it wouldn’t go away. I had bad reactions.”

His parents decided to sign him up for swimming. He started with a small group of five kids and one coach in a small pool.

“It was strictly recreational but I basically learned the mechanics,” Moore said.

Since then, the Fort Lauderdale-born swimmer of British descent has been swimming for 12 years at a high level. He joined the Coral Springs Swim Club in sixth grade and quickly progressed at the club and high school level.

“The sport helped me manage my time as I got older,” Moore said. “I am not the typical teenager. Sometimes I slack on homework. Swimming helped me with dedication. When I am not at school or swimming I am a complete bum, chilling around with friends, sitting in front of a computer or relaxing.

“If I didn’t have the sport to keep me busy I would be the kid at home that didn’t do anything every day,” Moore said. “Swimming keeps me extremely focused.”

Moore competes in most of the sport’s events including the 200 and 400 individual medley, 100 butterfly and 200 freestyle.

Some of his most memorable moments came in high school swimming while competing at the Class A level, the state’s most competitive.

“It was a mixture of emotions for me,” Moore said. “Last November at states I was disappointed and extremely happy as well. I came in second by absolutely nothing. At the same time, I was thinking I could have gotten first. I was first until the last turn at the wall. Had I not gotten sloppy at the end I would have won.

“But I also thought I wasn’t going to focus on the negatives. I swam my best times and finished second at states in one of my best performances. I am sure I have other swims out there more memorable but that was the peak of my high school career. That will be the last thing I remember high school-wise.”

Moore hopes to swim in college but after that he will think long and hard about continuing.

“I don’t have to be an Olympian to be a great swimmer,” Moore said. “To be completely honest I may not swim past college. The other part of being a great swimmer is realizing when is a good time to stop. There are older Olympians out there who should really move on and get a job.

“When I am done with college if I am at the brink of making an Olympic trial cut and becoming one of the top swimmers that would be a completely different story. But if it doesn’t happen I want to put my priorities straight, find a job and take care of myself. I can’t go home to mom and dad, keep training and think everything is going to be okay. That’s not fair to my parents.”

Moore, who plans to major in international business, said he made sacrifices for swimming but has no regrets.

“I missed out on a lot of social activities, I was always known as the swimming kid,” Moore said. “I went to my first prom after-party ever and everyone was surprised to see me.

“I sacrificed a lot of my spare time. Swimming has been so tied into my life but when you sacrifice something you gain something else.

“Thanks to swimming I made quite a few friends, I am in great physical shape and it makes me happy mentally when I am swimming. I am always pushing myself. I am never satisfied.”

Training with the Coral Springs Swim Club has been the difference for Moore, he said.

“I know I can swim faster especially when somebody next to you is older and more mature,” Moore said. “It’s definitely an advantage swimming with Coach Lohberg.”

Sharon Robb can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it