Importance of role models

Digging

yourself a space

on the floor

to save a serve or point

then racing to set, swerve, observe

hot to set for the thrill

for the furious sudden motion

for the possible kill.

It takes smooth teamwork with

rough individual effort

to hand the whole team

that hard earned win

that reminds each fan,

the coach, everyone,

just how powerful a fun game can be.

I was a competitive swimmer for about 10 years with the Cape Cod Swim Club.

The water was always a place of comfort and joy for me when I was a child. Whether I was at the beach or in a swimming pool, I found a place of power and of peace.

The ocean, especially, was my home. Some days throughout my childhood we would stay at the beach from sunup to sundown. And I hardly left the water. Weightless, I could flip around in the surf like a butterfly. Or stand on my hands as I grabbed handfuls of sand from the sea floor. I could break through waves effortlessly like a mermaid, and ride them all the way to shore. I felt like I could do anything in the water.

Cape Cod Swim Club life lessons stayed with me into adulthood

My mother Judi felt like a competitive swim team would be the perfect fit for me. And I started training at age 6 with the AquaDux in Marshfield.

When we moved to the Cape, I swam for the Cape Cod Swim Club or CCSC and I loved it. There wasn't much diversity - I was one of two swimmers of color on the team during that time. The lack of swimmers of color at CCSC mirrored the sport as a whole. Access and equity when it comes to children of color and swim teams is, unfortunately, dismal across the board.

Training was tough. I was headed to practice before school at 4 a.m. And I trained after school, five days a week from 4 to 6 p.m. It was intense. But it taught me about accountability, goals and commitment. The sport, my coaches and my teammates were integral to my growth as a child. I would eventually become sidetracked in my teens. But life lessons I learned with CCSC stayed with me into adulthood.

Mentors - even for a moment - are integral to girls in sports

I was reminded about my swimming career during a reporting assignment at the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe's Government Center last week. The tribe, along with an organization called GLAM Girls, was holding basketball clinics featuring WNBA player Ryneldi Becenti and other stellar athletes.

When I walked into the Government Center's gym, all I could hear were the echoes of dribbling basketballs as tribal girls practiced drills. As they ran back and forth - screeching with laughter, and smiles spread across their faces - I saw Ryneldi Becenti standing at the top of the court.

Becenti, the first Native American woman in the WNBA, had traveled from New Mexico to Mashpee to teach the girls basketball for the week. Girls of color and tribal girls, Becenti told me, don't have enough support. Which is why she spends so much of her time traveling across the country running basketball clinics on Native American reservations. It's a gift to the girls, she said. But it's also a gift for her.

“Sometimes kids don’t have the finances or the resources for something like this and this kind of learning experience is important for them,” said Becenti. “Yes, we teach them ball handling and shooting drills. But we also teach woman power.”

It made me think back to the moment I saw Simone Manuel, the first Black female swimmer to win an individual Olympic gold medal, touch the wall after her 100-meter freestyle. I was ecstatic. It was the only time I have ever cried watching a sport on television. It was because she was me. I knew her experience as a young swimmer. I walked onto many pool decks - the only brown-skinned swimmer. If there was one other we often exchanged glances - acknowledging each other's rare existence in the sport. It was isolating. It was often nerve-wracking. But watching Manuel make it despite all the odds stirred something in me as an adult. It touched a piece of my childhood - and my heart.

And that's why it felt special to witness tribal girls of all varying skin tones look up to Becenti. I felt inspired.

What you'll find in this week's newsletter

To read more about Becenti's time in Mashpee, hit the jump here. It's a story about struggle and challenge but also perseverance. One of my favorites for the year.

In other news, check out the first Cape Verdean and Wampanoag-owned snack bar, Jones N' on Craigville Beach. And take a sneak peek at the menu!

Also, in food news, peruse the top 5 bakeries on Cape Cod, according to readers. The top spot is a female-owned bakery.

In housing news, the former Cape Cod 5 headquarters will become affordable housing by 2025.

Also in housing news, find out where Habitat for Humanity is making a dent in the Cape Cod housing crisis.

Rachael Devaney writes about community and culture. Reach her at rdevaney@capecodonline.com. Follow her on Twitter: @RachaelDevaney.

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