In the mid-1980s we coached an age group team in west Houston, Western Horizon Aquatic Team ("WHAT"), in a then-small town called Katy. One of our "tweens" was a skinny little towhead named Lawrence "L.D." Romine. He was talented and worked hard and then, like the Clampetts, packed up and moved to Californy and that was the last we heard of him. Until January of 2022, when we got an email that knocked our Hokas off. Listen to our chat with Lawrence as he explains what happened in the intervening years, from hearing for the first time from him that he HATED swimming, to an adventure in the Navy that helped launch him on a career in electronics, and then what turned him back on to swimming. His reflections border on an epiphany and his ability to draw on lessons we tried to instill in him and every other kid we have coached over the years. It was gratifying to hear his comments and memories, and it was a lot of fun. Give a listen!
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