Cougars find time to train and serve in Puerto Rico

PROVO, Utah – Although the BYU swim and dive team traveled to Puerto Rico for a winter training camp between semesters, the athletes’ service left a mark on the island.

The Cougars hold an annual training camp, beginning after Christmas and ending just before winter semester. In recent years, the team traveled to San Diego, California, Puerto Rico or opted to stay in Provo. BYU swim head coach John Brooks hoped to return to Puerto Rico for the 2017-18 camp, especially with the pool remodel.

Hurricane Maria, hit the country in September 2017. The Category 5 hurricane became the worst natural disaster to ever effect Puerto Rico.

When Brooks first saw news of the hurricane, he considered canceling the trip but knew that the residents of Puerto Rico needed help.

“They had a place for us to stay, they had electricity, they had clean water, they had a pool for us to train at and they had food to eat,” Brooks said. “We didn’t need cellphone service, Wi-Fi or TV. Basic necessities were met.”

Brooks wanted the two returning athletes to be aware this trip would be different than the previous one and would be a learning opportunity for everyone.

The Cougars found the island in bad shape, but not as bad as it had been portrayed by the media.

“We were on the west side of the island, which was just fine,” Brooks said.

That being said, he explained people are working hard to get Puerto Rico back to the way it was before the hurricane. On the two-hour road trip from the airport to the hotel, the team traveled through many towns with power outages. When leaving the hotel for practice, it took the team anywhere from 15 to 40 minutes to get to the training facility at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez — not because the roads were covered with debris, but simply because trucks were clearing the piles of debris left on the side of the road.

During the trip, the university had the only aquatic facility on the island up and running. Additionally, the hotel was functional a month after the hurricane, but some of its employees lived in homes without electricity.

Upon arrival, the Cougars realized that out of 17 teams planning to train in Puerto Rico over the break, BYU was the only one to show up. Brooks said the president of the university told the team that employees found continual hope when they heard BYU was still planning to come.

“We were treated like royalty,” Brooks said. “Having the BYU team come told the community that someone still believes in them and cares.”

Brooks wanted to do more.

“I knew we had to do something while we were down there,” Brooks said. “We couldn’t just go to the beach and go swimming every day when there were people across the street without water or power.”

During training camp, the team held two swimming practices and one lifting session every day. Typically, the coaches set aside one day for the team to sightsee or relax. This year, however, coaches canceled the Saturday afternoon and New Year’s Day morning practices to serve the local community.

“We went to some of the poorer communities in the hills and handed out about 50 water filtration buckets,” Brooks said. “There were power lines still down in the middle of the street or just hanging, which was a little scary but we knew people needed help.”

While the trip was planned specifically for training, many of the 64 members in attendance were profoundly affected.

“A lot has already been done to help but you could tell by looking into the streets how much the people of Puerto Rico have been through,” senior captain Vanessa Moffat said. “It put everything into perspective for us that even though we don’t have a pool at BYU right now, what the people of Puerto Rico are going through is much worse – they don’t even have power.”

While the service in the community lifted resident’s spirits, the team’s presence helped spark the Puerto Rican economy.

The neighborhoods suffered because of other teams’ cancellations. Brooks recalls talking to a head sales worker at the hotel about their situation. She told him many of her employees came asking about the teams and she had to break the news – no one was coming. Eventually, a couple hundred of her employees were laid off and some left in tears knowing they wouldn’t be able to find work. BYU’s appearance meant the world to them. Even lifeguards at the university pool wondered what would happen when BYU left because the staff would be reduced.

“Every person we came in contact with was so appreciative that we came and helped them,” Brooks said. “They told us it gave them hope and faith that it would be OK. It was almost overwhelming to constantly hear. The devastation is unreal and we went to the least impacted part of the island.”

Many members of the swim and dive team speak Spanish and were able to connect with people in the community.

“We basically threw trees down a mountain to clear out the area and residents would came running out of their houses, offering us water,” sophomore James Sorensen said. “They were so thankful for all the help we were giving them.”

Even though this trip was not what many on the team expected, it had a lasting impression.

“I have already heard from a lot of the swimmers that it was a highlight of their life,” Brooks said. “Some of the freshmen had never been outside of Utah, so being able to experience a different culture was an unforgettable experience.”

In the end, the trip benefitted everyone. BYU trained hard, while the island of Puerto Rico gained hope.