CALABASAS' KIM HAS NO FEAR AS CIF PRELIMS APPROACH.Byline: Jim Inghram Daily News Staff Writer Water? Robin Kim was scared of it. Hated it, in fact. Maybe that explains why she knifes through it with such ease now. ``I was afraid of the deep end of the pool,'' Kim said. ``And taking baths. I was just afraid. I guess I felt like I almost drowned when I was really little. I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. , but I was very cautious in water.'' That former trepidation trepidation /trep·i·da·tion/ (trep?i-da´shun) 1. tremor. 2. nervous anxiety and fear.trep´idant trep·i·da·tion n. 1. An involuntary trembling or quivering. has turned to confidence for the Calabasas freshman. Her swimming skills are so good that coach David Hershman calls her one of the best freshmen he's had in his 22 years at the school. Why the change? A move to California, of course. Kim was born in Louisville, Ky., and moved to Calabasas with her family at the age of 4. ``When we moved here,'' Kim said, ``the house we moved to had a pool. A kid has just died in a drowning drowning /drown·ing/ (droun´ing) suffocation and death resulting from filling of the lungs with water or other substance. drowning, n asphyxiation because of submersion in a liquid. accident near where we lived, so my parents sent me to swimming lessons.'' Since then, Kim has spent a great deal of time in pools, either swimming for the Coyotes or with her club swim team CCAT CCAT Campus Center for Appropriate Technology (Humboldt State University; Arcata, CA) CCAT Cornell Caltech Atacama Telescope CCAT Canadian Cognitive Abilities Test CCAT Competition Commission Appeals Tribunal . ``I had fun swimming,'' Kim said. ``After the lessons, I just stuck with it.'' At 15, Kim is already one of the best in the Frontier League The Frontier League, based in Troy, Illinois, is a professional, independent baseball organization located in the Midwestern United States and Western Pennsylvania. It operates mostly in cities not served by Major or Minor League Baseball teams and is not affiliated with either. and she will get to test herself in the Southern Section Division III
Division III (or DIII) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association of the United States. preliminaries Friday at Belmont Plaza in Long Beach. She won the league title in the 100 butterfly and placed second in the 50 freestyle The code name for the MCE version of Windows. See Media Center Edition. . She also swam swam v. Past tense of swim. swam Verb the past tense of swim swam swim third on the winning 200 and 400 relay teams to help Calabasas claim the league championship. ``Robin is a very good overall swimmer,'' said Hershman. ``She could swim almost any event and do well. She's a fiery little freshman with unlimited energy.'' Her time of 1:00.67 in the 100 butterfly at league finals was an automatic CIF (1) (Common Intermediate Format) A standard video format used in videoconferencing. CIF formats are defined by their resolution, and standards both above and below the original resolution have been established. The original CIF is also known as Full CIF (FCIF). qualifying time and is among the 10 best in her division. ``She's very wiry wir·y adj. 1. Resembling wire in form or quality, especially in stiffness. 2. Sinewy and lean. 3. Filiform and hard. Used of a pulse. and strong,'' Hershman said. ``She has the body type to improve as she gets older, so I know she hasn't come close to reaching her peak.'' That's good news to Kim, because she has set some lofty goals for herself. ``I'd love to swim some junior national times and I would love to swim in college. I'd like to get a scholarship to Stanford.'' It wouldn't be unprecedented to see a Kim at The Farm. Kim's older sister, Eva, a standout swimmer herself at Calabasas, went to Stanford and participated on the rowing team. She now attends medical school there. ``I know people don't get into Stanford just because they want to,'' Kim said. ``I know it will take a lot of work, but I'm going to work as hard as I can to make it happen. I don't mind putting in the time. I enjoy swimming. It's not everything to me, but it is very important.'' In addition to her time with Calabasas, Kim estimates she averages about 15 hours a week in the pool with her club team and regularly works out to keep herself in top condition. ``Robin is such a good swimmer,'' said Calabasas and CCAT teammate Susan Grant Susan Grant is a pilot and New York Times bestselling author best known for combining science fiction with romance. Grant graduated from the United States Air Force Academy in 1982, the third class to include women, and was commissioned as an officer in the United States Air Force. . ``And she works hard to get better. You can see why she does so well.'' Said Hershman: ``Robin is very intelligent and a competitor. She has the full package to be a champion swimmer.'' ``I'm going there (to the Southern Section prelims) to do the best I can,'' she said. ``I think I have a pretty good chance. I feel I can break into the top three and I'm looking forward to it.'' One thing is certain: On Friday, when Kim hits the water on her takeoff, fear will be the furthest thing from her mind. KIM FILE Name: Robin Kim Year: Freshman School: Calabasas Height: 5-foot-5 Born: Jan. 8, 1984/Louisville, Ky. Notable: Swims for the CCAT club team. . . . Started swimming competitively at age 7. . . . Sister, Eva, a 1992 graduate of Calabasas, graduated from Stanford, where she was on the rowing team; she completed her degree in 1996 and is in medical school there. . . . Has one brother, James, 27. . . . Competing in 50 freestyle, 100 butterfly and 200, 400 relays at Southern Section preliminaries this week. CAPTION(S): Box BOX: KIM FILE (See text) |
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