Hough High swimmer Peter Brumm certainly did. His path to athletic success — and eventually to the medal stand — didn't begin in a lane in a swimming pool, but rather in the carpool lane.
While in the fourth grade, Brumm began swimming basically because it was logistically simpler for him, given the carpooling arrangement his family had with a neighbor. In other words, it was going to be more of a hassle if he didn't. And it wasn't long until he fell in love with the sport he thrives in today.
"It's real direct," says Brumm. "The harder you work, the faster you go."
A soccer player until the sixth grade, Brumm has gone quite fast the past few years, and now he's an accomplished high school senior who has won three state championships, qualified for next summer's U.S. Olympic Trials and earned a scholarship to the University of Michigan, the nation's top-ranked program.
As his senior season warms up, Brumm is as motivated as ever. Having accomplished some of his individual goals, he's still hungry for first-place finishes and for delivering a team state championship to the promising second-year program that finished fifth in its inaugural campaign.
"The kid does not have senioritis," says Hough coach Tim Queen. "He is still training and focused. That's a good thing."
Talent aside, Queen likes the attitude that Brumm brings to the pool.
"He's so enthusiastic," says Queen. "It's like having a 7-year-old out there."
Brumm chose Michigan over Virginia, North Carolina, Northwestern and Florida. He has no real ties to the Wolverines program or the area, but his parents both attended Big 10 schools and his cousin swam at Michigan State. Among the notable swimmers to tread water in Ann Arbor is Olympic champion Michael Phelps, though Phelps swam for a different coach. Brumm now sports a blue Michigan sweatshirt that has a large maize 'M' stretching all the way across his chest.
"Once he visited the Big House on game day, I don't think there was any way he'd go anywhere else," jokes Queen, referencing Michigan's 100,000-plus seat football stadium, a recruiting tool for all the Wolverine programs.
Brumm won the 4A state title in the 100-yard butterfly last year, posting a time of 49.41 seconds. That performance followed a two-win championship display as a sophomore at Lake Norman Charter, when he won 1A/2A titles in the 100 butterfly (52.40) and 200 freestyle (1:44.38).
Brumm has helped four relay teams to top-3 state finishes and was second to current University of Texas swimmer Kip Darmody, then of Providence High, in the 200 freestyle last year with a time of 1:39.64.
A SwimMAC Carolina swimmer, Brumm will participate in the U.S. Olympic Trials in Omaha June 25-July 2. By posting qualifying times during national championships in Indianapolis and California in March and August, respectively, Brumm gets the chance to compete for spots on the U.S. team for the 2012 Olympics in London in three events: the 100 butterfly, 200 butterfly and 200 freestyle.
"I'm really excited," says Brumm.
Having proven his versatility often, Brumm recently swam the 100 backstroke in a Hough meet. He posted a time of 52.1 seconds, without being pushed by strong competition. Queen remembers having a state champion backstroker post a time of 52-flat early in his coaching career, and could only shake his head at Brumm's performance in an event he rarely swims.
"He's up for anything," says Queen. "He'll try anything new."
The Huskies are just glad he tried swimming about a decade ago.
