Record-Breaking Swimming Season Fueled by Olympian Coaching at T. A. Blakelock HS
Pictured from left to right: Petar Jokic, Melanie Heuft, JJ Rubanovich, Zayden Dindayal, Annamay Oldershaw
T. A. Blakelock High School has never been known as a swim team powerhouse. The Tigers have seen flashes of success over the years, but never a season that reshaped the record books and provincial standings. That changed this year.
Breaking five GHAC (Golden Horseshoe Athletic Conference) records—one of which had stood for two decades—and earning two individual OFSAA (Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations) gold medals, this year the team has cemented its place in school history.
The season’s most poetic moment came when Grade 11 student Zayden Dindayal dove into the pool for the 100m Individual Medley. He didn’t just beat the swimmers in the adjacent lanes; he broke a 20-year-old record held by David Landry, a former T. A. Blakelock HS student and teacher.
Swim coach and teacher Petar Jokic added context to the weight of that moment: "Having multiple people on the podium and multiple records at GHAC and then at OFSAA... I don't believe that has happened in about 15 years."
The record-breaking didn't stop there. Grade 12 student JJ Rubanovich and the rest of the relay team took down a nine-year-old mark in the 4x50m Medley Relay.
When asked what catalyzed this sudden surge in success, JJ emphasized the mental side of the sport. “You’ve got to be really mentally strong to actually accomplish that,” he said.
Pictured from left to right: Melanie Heuft, JJ Rubanovich, Zayden Dindayal
The swimmers also pointed to the coaching staff as a reason for their success, specifically Annamay Oldershaw. As a former Olympian and world record holder, Ms. Oldershaw brought a level of technical precision that the program had never seen.
"I think the biggest change... would be the person on the other side of the table," Mr. Jokic said, gesturing to Ms. Oldershaw. "To take it to the next level, I'm going to default to the Olympian coaching staff. That extra little bit came from that."
Ms. Oldershaw brought a detail-oriented approach that resonated with the team. "My career was very much about doing small things and doing them really, really well," she explained, noting that the OFSAA gold medalists won by just a few hundredths of a second. “One of the things in my career that was always a big deal was touches. We worked on that a lot."
The transition from regional qualifiers to the provincial stage at OFSAA was a test of mental fortitude. For Grade 12 swimmer Melanie Heuft, seeing the "psych sheets"—the pre-race rankings—was both a blessing and a curse.
"When the psych sheets were released... I saw that I had a chance of maybe being able to come first. It gave me extra motivation, but it was also really stressful," Melanie recalled.
Zayden echoed the intensity of the moments before the race began. "The top 10 times were all within 20 milliseconds from each other. Me and Mel were sitting beside each other in the stands... just sitting there silent, stressed out. Our parents said we looked like chipmunks because we were both biting our fingernails."
That anxiety did not negatively impact their performances. Melanie Heuft claimed gold in the Senior Girls 50m Breaststroke with a finals time of 36.28, while Zayden Dindayal took gold in the Senior Boys 50m Breaststroke in 31.57.
Photo source: OFSAA
"It felt awesome," Melanie said. "Not even just getting the medal, but just knowing that I could achieve what I set my mind to." For Zayden, the reality took longer to sink in. "I was a bit in denial.”
While the swimmers were still trying to process the win, their supportive coaches were not as composed. "We’re screaming, trying not to cry on the deck," recalled Mr. Jokic. "We did cry, obviously. They were calm, cool, collected in the pool, and we’re losing our minds on the deck!"
Pictured from left to right: Melanie Heuft, Zayden Dindayal
The excitement extended beyond the pool as well. Declan Adams, a former T. A. Blakelock record-holding swimmer who returned to the school this year as a teacher candidate, was rooting for the team as their season unfolded. “It was really fun to follow along with what was happening and hear the updates from the math office,” Mr. Adams said. “They did a really great job.”
While swimming is often seen as an individual pursuit, the Tigers fought to make it feel like a team sport throughout the season. This was physically represented by their matching "deck parkas"—specialized gear funded through a scrap metal drive led by team captain Cameron Coxson.
"It’s like our jersey since everyone has a different bathing suit," Melanie explained. "It’s nice to have something everyone can wear together."
Beyond the parkas, the team focused on fostering their love for the sport. As Ms. Oldershaw puts it: "Loving what you're doing really helps you swim fast."
Both Melanie and Zayden had previously stepped away from high-level competitive swimming. "I joined the [school] swim team so I could start swimming again," Melanie said. "The coaches were super motivating... and it made swimming fun again. That made it easier to put my best effort in."
While some of the athletes the T. A. Blakelock team faced were competitive swimmers, many of whom can train upwards of 16 hours per week, the Tigers were able to accomplish their goals with a much more balanced schedule.
Zayden appreciated this lesson: "Learning I can still have success while also being able to balance school and other parts of my life... I can put that mindset toward anything."
