Bramer brings hype to Byron swimming

The wheels can spin on any athletic program that experiences a coaching change.

It’s not uncommon for athletes to make adjustments before signs of progress under new leadership begin to sprout. What truly catches people’s attention though is when a new coach can take a solid program and show the potential for growth and even more success.

Grant Bramer is just getting started at Byron, and his big plans involve making the perennial football powerhouse known for its swimming and diving programs, too.

Bramer, a Sterling native, was an NIIC all-conference performer, a state qualifier, and a captain in the pool for the Golden Warriors. The 2005 Sterling grad swam relays during his sophomore and junior seasons with current Sterling boys coach Kyle Ruiz. However, this season won’t be the first time the two former Golden Warriors will go head-to-head as coaches.

When Bramer was named the head coach for the girls and boys swimming and diving programs at Rock Island in 2011, he asked Ruiz if the Rocks and Warriors could schedule a dual. For the last 6 1/2 years, the two former teammates got together to see how their respective programs stacked up with one another.

“It’s a fun dynamic. He’s a good coach,” Bramer said of Ruiz. “The opportunity to coach Byron meant that I was coaching Sterling’s arch nemesis in swimming. There’s a different intensity to coaching in the conference.”

During his time with the Rocks’ boys and girls swimming and diving teams, Bramer coached more than 30 Western Big 6 conference champions, 25 state qualifiers, three all-staters and an All-American. He was named Sectional Coach of the Year in 2012 and 2013, and also coached the club team in Rock Island along with the two middle schools programs.

Bramer came to Byron solely as an AP History teacher first, but when McKenna Kurth announced she wasn’t going to coach the boys and girls swimming and diving teams in 2017-18 after just a year at the helm, the veteran coach couldn’t resist the opportunity to coach the Tigers.

The Byron girls program finished second at its own sectional this past November, where Bramer collected his third Sectional Coach of the Year honor. Dixon senior Gretchen Bushman earned her second trip to state in the 100 butterfly, while the 200 freestyle relay team of Bushman, Kylie Shaw, Leah Drengenberg, and Katie Drezen also qualified for state.

Dealing with the multiple schools involved in the Byron swimming co-op was a challenge right off the bat for Bramer, a situation he dealt with by using open and clear communication. During the few weeks between and girls’ and boys’ seasons, athletes have been more engaged in making sure the transition is a seamless one.

“The girls have communicated to the boys that, ‘Bramer knows what he’s doing. He can write good workouts and has an effective taper that will make you guys fast.’ So far, there hasn’t been any bumps in the road,” he said. “We have a friendly bunch of guys who are sore from adapting to the workouts, and I’m excited to see where we end up at the end of the season.”

Bramer has also seen more signs of a program on the rise of late. The Byron school board recently approved of a training trip in June to San Diego, California for the swimming and diving teams, and a capital improvement survey sent out by the Byron Park District might result in a new 50-meter outdoor pool.

“I’m very humbled by how supportive this community is of new hires and the people that work here as teachers and coaches,” Bramer said. “The athletic department has been ridiculously supportive as far as asking what I need, what equipment and training we need, and what kind of meets we want on our schedule. So far, it’s always been ‘yes’ to everything.”

The 2017-18 boys squad has 14 kids, up from nine a season ago. Five of the 14 are freshmen, while the youth program has gone from 32 kids at the end of the summer to a current total of 62.

“One of the things that I like to do is build programs,” Bramer said. “I know these guys are in it for the long haul. We’ll be able to develop their technique, conditioning and knowledge of the sport. I’m excited to see what we can do with them in the next 3 years. I think we’re on our way to possibly getting up to the level that Pat Egan had in the early 2000’s.”

Bramer has just three seniors on the roster, but two are stars with experience on the state-level.

Dixon’s Caleb Carlson is a 3-time state qualifier in the 200 IM and 2-time qualifier in the 100 breastroke. He finished fourth in both events last winter, and placed third in the 200 IM and 10th in the breastroke during his breakout sophomore campaign. Carlson missed out on the 200 IM finals by one spot his freshman year, finishing 13th in the preliminaries.

The other senior leader is AFC’s Wade Lyles, a 2-time state qualifier as part of the Tigers’ 200 medley relay and 200 freestyle relay. Bramer increased practices twofold upon his hire, having his athletes in the pool 10 times per week instead of five.

“I’ve had a lot of coaches, but none with his credentials,” Lyles said of Bramer. “I‘ve been fortunate to swim in the offseason with a coach that’s tougher than him. It was still an adjustment, but not as big of one that some of the other guys had to make.”

Bramer’s coaching style features intense workouts with a sprint and dryland emphasis, a huge difference for Carlson and his Aurora Bullets club team. The coach and star swimmer have known each other since Bramer was Carlson’s coach with the Stingrays, and the Dixon senior knows his old, yet new, coach has a good training regimen and that he makes good athletes.

“The main adjustment is more sprints,” Carlson said. “The workouts I do with the Bullets is more mid-distance with a lot of yards. This is low yardage.”

With such a young team, Bramer has leaned on Carlson and Lyles to be not only athletes, but coaches and leaders for a young crop of promising talent.

“I’ve learned that it’s a lot harder to keep people in line than I thought,” Lyles said. “They’re all good guys, and we like to have fun. Sometimes it just goes a little too far.”

The season begins today for the Tigers at home against Harlem, but Carlson’s preparation began months ago. He will swim relays tomorrow for the Bullets at the Speedo Winter Junior Championships in Iowa City, and compete in individual events on Thursday.

“I’ve been trying to get in the pool as much as I could during the fall,” Carlson said. “When soccer ended, I started training five to six days a week at Aurora for the Bullets. It really broke my body down. But I feel pretty good still.”

Bramer reached out to Carlson’s family, Bullets coach Todd Capen and Carlson’s two other private instructors in the Sterling/Rock Falls area soon after his hire to make sure all parties involved were on the same page as far as training schedules, goals and expectations for the winter.

After the Junior Championships, Bramer plans on “throwing everything in the book” at Carlson in an effort to build his taper for a run at the state title, all while making sure one of his stars remains healthy.

Byron will have to find replacements for Sergio Solis and Everett Stoker, who were both members of the Tigers’ state-qualifying relays the last 2 years. Solis also advanced out of sectionals in the 100 butterfly and the 100 backstroke in his final two seasons.

The faces in the pool and one face coaching alongside the pool are different from season’s past, but the Tigers’ goals remain the same: drop time as the season progresses, focus on fundamentals, technique and conditioning, and finish in the top 3 as a team at sectionals.

Bramer wants another goal added to the list: conference champions. The girls program won the NIIC Meet this fall with a several stars and solid depth. Now, the challenge for Bramer is developing depth in a program with dominant stars and unproven talent.

“We have superstars like Caleb and Wade who are senior captains and main cogs on the team,” Bramer said. “But our success is going to rely on if we can develop the underclassmen and team guys who were contributing down on placement positions last year. If we can get them up into the top three or top six, I think we’ll be very competitive.”