A Passion Returns After 48 Years Off: On Deck with James Lussier, EP 231
Have you ever wondered what can ignite a flame to rekindle a long-lost passion? Discover the answer as we engage in an energizing conversation with the inspiring James Lucere, a 67-year-old who recently dove back into his first swim meet after a staggering 48-year hiatus! Listen in as James shares about his journey back to the pool, his unexpected catalyst, and the refreshing perspective he holds on what it means to be a swimmer irrespective of age.
Get ready to be enlightened by James' candid account of how his dissatisfaction with his swimming abilities sparked a motivation to make a splash once again. You'll be touched by his unique approach to swimming, the goals he set, and the euphoria he experiences when he's cutting through the water. So, why not tune in? Perhaps, James' story may just nudge you to reignite your own passions or pick up a new hobby, no matter your age. Prepare to be inspired by an uplifting tale of ageless determination and the joy of rediscovering a cherished pastime.
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Speaker 1:
Welcome to the award-winning champions mojo, hosted by two world record holding athletes. Be inspired as you listen to conversations with champions and now your host, kelly Palace and Maria Parker.
Speaker 2:
Hello friends, welcome to the champions mojo podcast. I am your host, kelly Palace, and, as usual, I am with my co-host, maria Parker. Hey, maria Kelly, it's great to be with you here today. Yes, and Maria, this is a special edition of champions mojo from the pool deck and we have a great interview for you today. It's brief, it's short, but it's powerful.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, and we. I wasn't there, but I was able to listen to the interview and some great takeaways.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, we hope you'll stick around and catch the takeaways. And here we go. I'm here at the Raleigh area masters last chance meet with a brand new master. So my first meet in 48 years. Right, that's great. James Lucere, he is 67 and I just think it's such a great story that James is in his first meet. What prompted you to swim in a master's meet for your first time?
Speaker 4:
Yeah, last summer I was with my son in this family and I got in a pool with them messing around. That felt like a total turd with two pencil arms. I said this is awful, and you know how to swim. So I decided I had to do some swimming. So I've been swimming about a year now. Again he did three times a week.
Speaker 2:
How did the meet go for you today?
Speaker 4:
It was very interesting. I love this facility. Being a first masters event event to, I thought it really made me and relax him to save time.
Speaker 2:
What was relaxing about?
Speaker 4:
it the fact that everybody's laid back and you got people of all ages. People are starting not off the blocks or in the water, so it's very do your own thing.
Speaker 2:
And how did you set goals for this meet? If this was your first meet, how did you set goals? What were you aiming for when you came here?
Speaker 4:
I don't know if I had any goals. I just wanted to see what my time was. I was fairly decent back in high school, so I was just like I'm a sprinter, that's what it was, you know the jogger. And so now is when I work out, I pretty much just do the high intensity, so sprinting. So I was just curious to know what my time was.
Speaker 2:
Were you happy.
Speaker 4:
No, first time. I'm glad I did that.
Speaker 2:
What does being in a meet for your first time? What does that do to your future plans for master swimming?
Speaker 4:
I definitely want to do it some more. Yes, it was a joy, a little experience. I'm going to do it some more.
Speaker 2:
You look very fit. You swim in high school at O'Connell in Arlington, virginia. What did you do for your day job all your life?
Speaker 4:
I was an engineer and then I managed it for about 30 years and I build houses on the side, and what's kept you fit enough to jump right in and swim? I've always been active in sports. I played some pickup basketball, I played handball twice a week, and I was balloted a gym for a while, and so I drop the gym and go to the pool instead.
Speaker 2:
And you're training right now. You're on an unattached team. What city are you training in? Where, and maybe how many days a week?
Speaker 4:
They're training in Winchester at the hospital there. It's Winchester, north Carolina, also Winchester, virginia. Okay, yeah, and let's say I swim. Maybe I like to go four times a week, but it ends up in probably three times a week.
Speaker 2:
All right. The last question we ask is when you dive in the water, what feeling do you get?
Speaker 4:
I feel like since I grew up swimming, there's a swim heat. Family Swimming feels really natural, so dive in, almost feel like a fish. I belong here, you know, that's the feeling of the day.
Speaker 2:
That is so beautiful, james, thank you so much for being on the show. Really appreciate it, you bet.
Speaker 1:
Stay tuned for the takeaways.
Speaker 2:
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Speaker 1:
And now the takeaways.
Speaker 2:
James Lucere was truly one of my favorite interviews that I've had in so long, because this was James' first swim meet in 48 years. It was so interesting. When you run into somebody like that, wow, what brought this person back to the pool? And so that was your first takeaway. Why don't you share that?
Speaker 3:
Yeah, I love that he was with his family I guess children, maybe grandchildren, and swimming and just not feeling like a good swimmer. He had swum many years before and he didn't like that feeling, so he got back in the pool and started drinking. I think that's so inspirational. Hey, doesn't matter how old you are, you can restart something or start something new and get back into it about you.
Speaker 2:
Yes, yes, so I love that and I think that if you ever swam whether you were a high school swimmer, maybe a club summer league swimmer, obviously if you were a college swimmer, there's always a little invert in there that makes us all swimmers. And you just need a little kickstart, Just to throw a little bit of effort onto it. And the question that I asked James was he wasn't happy with what he swam in the day. But I said, but what does this do? And he's like I want to do it again. It was fun, it was relaxing and that helped him take away.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, that was, I was going to say that too, just that it was totally not stressful for him, because master swim meets aren't stressful. Everybody's doing their own thing, as he said.
Speaker 2:
So, yeah, that was a nice takeaway, it's only masters, and that you can come out of retirement after 48 years and still have fun and not have it be pressure filled. But yeah, and then he answered the question at the end what feeling comes over you when you dive in the water? A new answer. We've never had this one. He feels like a fish and I just I love that. So, yeah, this was just such a great interview to see someone that took all those years off, but they're ready to come back and just very inspirational.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, it was a great interview, I loved it. Love you Marietta, love you Kelly, bye-bye, bye-bye.
Speaker 1:
Thank you for listening to the Champions Mojo podcast. Did you enjoy the show? We'd be grateful if you would leave us a five star review on iTunes to help others find us, and we'd also love to hear from you. We're on all social media platforms or you can reach us at championsmojocom.
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