For Erin Gorlesky, it's all about eating ice cream.

After practicing six days a week for six hours each, the last thing Gorlesky wanted to do this summer was spend even more time at the pool as a lifeguard. After finishing her Indiana University swimming eligibility this spring, the Snider High School graduate was focused on next month's Olympic Trials in Long Beach, Calif., where she will compete in the 200- and 400-meter freestyle and the 400 individual medley.

In fact, she never tried lifeguarding because she didn't want to spend any extra time at the pool. This summer, distractions were the last thing she needed -- or so she thought.

Somehow Gorlesky got talked into coaching a Bloomington youth team for three hours a week. The kids had tried lessons and wanted to progress to being on a team.

"Some of them probably should be back in lessons, but that's OK," Gorlesky said, laughing. "It keeps me on my toes. Right now we're concentrating on just being able to go the whole 25 meters without stopping."

The eight children, ages 7 through 9, are much more worried about splashing, doing cannonballs and giggling than they are about being good swimmers. That frustrates their coach, but in a good way.

"The reason why they are swimming is because they want to have fun, and that's important," Gorlesky said. "A lot of people, myself included, have lost sight of that at one time or another."

The kids are always trying to get Gorlesky wet with splashes or often climbing out of the pool to give her wet hugs.

"They definitely like to see how wet they can get me. Sometimes I get into the water with them, but those are the days that we don't get anything accomplished."

The children's energy has refired Gorlesky's love of her sport. They remind her of when swimming used to be fun, when she swam because she wanted to, not because she had to. The kids have not reached the point where they say, "This is too hard," or "This part stinks."

"It's refreshing to see how much fun they have with swimming," she said. "This is definitely not what I expected because I didn't know if I'd be able to relate to them. Without them I definitely would be struggling through the last few months of my career."

"I'm not expecting to make the Olympic team, but being able to compete in the trials is a great way to end my career," she said. "The thing about the Olympic Trials is that anything can happen. You might have some little squirt nobody has heard of qualify. You just never know."

But Gorlesky's new attitude serves her well at Long Beach.

"I've got nothing to lose," she said. "I'm just going to go out there, swim some fast times and have fun. Every kid's hope is to make the Olympic team, and I think it would be a perfect ending to my career."

She can't take the kids with her, but she can take their attitude.

The full text of this article can be found in the Ft. Wayne News-Sentinel