Adam Bergen wanted to stress one thing about his swimming career at Dexter High School that means a lot to him – and it has to do with other people, not himself.
“I would like to thank my mom, dad, PT and friends, because I am really happy where I am in swimming and in life in general,” he says. “There’s no way I could be where I am today without them.”
Now how cool is that?
Adam’s dad is Dexter girls’ swimming and diving coach Cory Bergen, and having a swim coach in the house proved to be quite an advantage for a youngster looking to make a big splash.
“My dad has been great,” Adam says. “He has always helped me so much with my form and technique in swimming. The biggest thing that I’ve learned from him is the importance of hard work, and how that hard work in the end will always pay off.”
As one would expect, Adam’s interest in swimming began at home.
“I was first introduced to swimming at a very young age,” he says. “I was introduced to swimming from my dad. I really like swimming over other sports because it’s mostly about how strong you are mentally and how far you are willing to push your own limits. This makes for some serious personal growth. I believe swimming will teach you more about yourself than most sports.”
What he learned about his Dexter teammates over the years was just how awesome they were as individuals and as a group.
“I love this team,” he said before last week’s State Finals. “This team is so funny, and throughout the whole season, we’ve had a great atmosphere. Maybe we have a little too much fun at times, but we definitely work hard.”
Bergen has worked especially hard trying to overcome some injuries and challenges along the way. A shoulder injury certainly slowed him down but never kept him down.
“I was really happy with my season especially since I haven’t really been able to swim as much as I’d like due to my shoulder during the last three seasons,” he says. “I’m really happy that, for the first time, I’ve had about as much as a normal season one can have during Covid.”
One of his many highlights in the water came this year at the Spartan Invitational where he went 58.93 seconds in the 100 backstroke.
“That time meant so much to me,” he says. “Not only because it was a new best time and I had dropped about 3 seconds, and that it was my first MISCA cut, but it was right after I had just been cleared to come back to swim after having Covid. I had felt really weak during the few days coming into the meet and I wasn’t even sure if I was going to be swimming in the meet in the first place until the day before.
“It was such a great time for me and I was shocked to say the least. I remember celebrating with my dad on the pool deck right after and it just felt right. It meant that all my hard work and sacrifices weren’t for nothing. Through all of my struggles and setbacks, it made me feel like no matter what was thrown in my face wouldn’t stop me, it would only make me stronger.”
Another highlight came later at the SEC championships at Skyline. “I swim a best time in all of my events at SECs and I couldn’t be happier,” he said.
Bergen has been on the Dexter swim team for four years. He suffered a serious shoulder injury his first year that would stay with him for most of his swimming career. “It was really bad, for a multitude of reasons, obviously physically because for both my freshman and sophomore seasons I really didn’t swim that much,” he said. “My junior year I had more success in terms of being able to train consistently, yet not nearly as much as I had hoped.”
But each year Bergen would drop about 2-3 seconds in the backstroke – which is amazing considering his limited training. “As time progressed I was able to really find my footing with the team,” he explains. “I was never in a bad favor with the team, I just never really felt like I fit due to the lack of training and I’m so happy to be a part of this team. Overall, it’s been a bumpy ride on the DHS swimming train for me, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I’ve learned so much about myself and my capabilities.”
Adam, 18, the son of Cory and Audrey Bergen, swims along to a 3.8 GPA in the classroom. He is a huge football and basketball fan and also enjoys lifting weights, reading and doing puzzles. He swam for nine years with DCAC and played water polo.
Bergen says his swimming days have come to an end.
“I don’t plan on swimming in college,” he says. “I’m not totally sure where I’m going to school next year, but I have been interested in majoring in Kinesiology.”
