Jan. 21, 2010

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Steve Davidson is not your average swim dad.

Along with wife June, Steve, a proud father of three, heads the Davidson family household in Beverly, Mass., which includes Maryland senior Jackie, former Harvard collegiate swimmer Jess, and son Matt, who is currently the women's swimming assistant coach at Harvard.

With all kids on deck, Steve couldn't resist but become part of the action. He is now in his 18th year as a swim official.

"Have you ever been to a swim meet? You sit there for three or four days, you have to do something," Steve said. "I'm just not a person that can just sit there. So I started timing, and after one year of timing, one of the officials said, `You seem to like it down here on deck...why don't you become an official?' So I did that and, 18 years later, I love it."

Jackie, the youngest of three and now a four-year mainstay for the Terps specializing in the backstroke, found out at a very early age that having your dad as an official didn't necessarily have its advantages.

"He was the first person to disqualify me," Jackie said with a chuckle. "I was about six or seven. My mom was so mad at him. I don't think he felt bad about it either. I think he got a kick out of it. He might have felt bad, but I doubt it."

"She's (Jackie) has continued it through the years actually," Steve said. "I have disqualified all my kids. It made for some very long rides after swim meets. My wife would say, `How could you do that to your kids?'

And what about that ride home?

"I don't know how to explain that," June said. "I think our kids respect his integrity. If he sees something, he's going to call it. I think he feels that his role, especially as a YMCA official, is to teach kids.

"He would disqualify our friends' kids and I'd be sitting in the stands just dying. I'd say I'm going to make an apple pie and send it over to their house. But our kids learned at a young age that you have to do it the right way."

What began as merely an afternoon activity has blossomed into a family staple. Jess continues to swim for a master's team after a successful four-year career at Harvard while Matt, who did not swim collegiately, has made the sport his livelihood, serving as the assistant coach for the Crimson.

"We started when the kids were really young...I decided we needed to do something after school and thought we'd try out the swim team," June said. "They started with the YMCA and we've become such a believer of the YMCA, it does so much for so many people. They just really thrived with the YMCA program. We met families that were phenomenal and had coaches that were phenomenal. It was more than just a sport...it became our life."

Jackie said while having the influence of her older siblings helped catapult her into the sport, at no point did she feel pressure to take on the family tradition.

"We have a pool in our backyard so we all were always into swimming," Jackie said. "I never felt like since my brother and sister were doing it that I didn't want to. It made me want to do it more."

Jackie chose to continue her swim calling at the University of Maryland after spending a great deal of time in the school's incredible swim facility beginning at an early age.

"I really like the pool and it was a comfort thing for me," Jackie said. "I'd been swimming there since I was in the sixth grade at YMCA Nationals. Over the past four years, Maryland swimming has changed a lot but I think that it's going in a good direction. I think that we are on the rise definitely."

Steve, who serves as one of the directors of the college swim officials, last officiated one of Jackie's meets in the annual Terrapin Cup in 2008 and will miss watching his youngest daughter compete collegiately. However, he looks forward to getting back in action as an official at Eppley Recreation Natatorium for championship events.

"For a championship meet, they try to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest, but it's not an iron fist rule so sometimes I do end up serving as an official for Jackie's meets as well as Matt's at Harvard," Steve said. "Most coaches know I am just as hard on my kids, if not worse. I keep myself busy up here but I am looking forward to getting back on deck at Maryland for ACCs."

Even with Jackie graduating at the close of this semester, the Davidson family can't fathom swimming sneaking out of their lives any time soon.

"We'd probably have a lot more free time on our hands without swimming," Jackie said. "It probably wouldn't be nearly as exciting. It's something that we always talk about. It is fun that we can all talk about swimming and relate. I honestly don't know what my mom is going to do. I think she is going to be really sad when it's all done. But I think it will be nice for her to have some downtime."

Whether in the heat of competition, coaching, officiating or being the ultimate swim mom, the Davidson family lives for the pool.

"To paraphrase Saturday Night Live, swimming has been very, very good to us," Steve said.

And the Davidson's have been very, very good to swimming.