Molly Yacoviello remembers the first time her mom walked her into the pool for swim practice at Central York Aquatic Center.
“I didn’t even know how to do the backstroke,” she recalled.
After the first few months, Yacoviello wanted to quit because she was unable to execute a proper flip turn. Instead of stepping away from the pool, she persevered, worked with a private coach and eventually conquered those flip turns. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Eight years later, Yacoviello, a rising senior at Veritas Academy in Leola who has already committed to swim for the University of Wisconsin when she begins college in 2025, is one of the top breaststroke swimmers not only in Pennsylvania, but in the entire country.
In late July, Yacoviello will compete in the U.S. Junior Nationals Meet in Irvine, California. Such high level swimming is a far cry from the young girl who thought about quitting due to the frustration of the flip turn.
It is a journey that has been filled with challenges and adversity. One of the biggest challenges came in the form of the 2020 pandemic that closed all indoor pools. To stay in shape, Yacoviello began running a lot and even bought a wet suit so that she could train in her family’s outdoor pool that spring.
This came just as Yacoviello had begun to reach elite status, having made the cut to swim at YMCA Nationals in the 100 breaststroke. Like so many sports and activities, competitive swimming was flipped upside down by the restrictions of the pandemic.
Instead of gathering for a national meet, the competition was held as split nationals with each swimmer competing at his or her own pool. Yacoviello recalled that “it was really hard to miss out,” but this would just be the beginning of her high-level competitive swimming career. It was around this time, at age 13, that she moved up to competing with older athletes.
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Veritas Academy swimmer Molly Yacoviello [photos]
Molly Yacoviello, a 17-year-old York resident who attends Veritas Academy in Leola, poses by the pool at York YMCA's Graham Aquatic Center Wednesday, May 5, 2024.
‘Pushing each other’
During this difficult transition, Yacoviello credited the relationships and friendly competitiveness of her teammates for helping her to continue pushing forward.
“I remember at age 12 and 13, my friend Izzy and I would compete every day in practice,” she said, “pushing each other with us each going back and forth between winning by a fraction of a second, but always cheering each other on.”
This competition and camaraderie has helped Yacoviello endure the intensive six-days-a-week-training schedule she maintains. During the school year, she is in the York YMCA pool three mornings a week from 5:45-6:45, and then makes the 50-minute drive to Veritas Academy in Leola. She is then back in the pool every afternoon from 3-6, when her training includes a “killer distance set” and at least 30 minutes of dry land training.
While that brutal schedule can be exhausting, Yacoviello views the pool as her sanctuary.
“It (swimming) is the highlight of my day,” she said. “No matter what has happened or how bad my day may have been, I can swim and know everything will be fine.”
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‘Growth mindset’
Last summer, her coach, John Nelson, who has been training competitive swimmers for 17 years, created a new elite team at the York YMCA. As part of the process to qualify for this team, each swimmer had to write an essay about what it means to be an athlete, and what sets an athlete apart.
“I used the essay to create a slight barrier and as a conversation starter for motivation that we can always go back to when challenges arise,” Nelson said. “What sets Molly apart is her growth mindset, the ability to not only go after the prize, but to focus on the process, the everyday grind.”
As those challenges have arrived, Yacoviello has constantly gone back to the root of what motivates her.
“Competing pushes me, and if I am competitive in one aspect of life, I will be competitive in all aspects of my life,” she said. “Swimming has taught me to push myself in all areas of my life, to be the best at life.”
Yacoviello and her York YMCA teammates competed in early April at the YMCA Nationals in Greensboro, North Carolina, where they finished third nationally as a team. Last December, Yacoviello competed in the junior nationals, where she earned fourth place in the 200-meter breaststroke, truly putting her on the radar as a rising star in the U.S. swimming scene.
Her time in the 200-meter breaststroke is 2:35, just off the 2:31.69 needed to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials, which will be held in Indianapolis June 15-23. Three and a half seconds. Just one second per 50-meter lap. That is all that separates her from realizing her Olympic Trials dream, a dream that she will continue to pursue throughout the next year and during her collegiate career.
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‘More motivated than ever’
Yacoviello’s family, including her mom, Sarah, has been her biggest support system throughout her swimming pursuits.
“I know she was disappointed (about narrowly missing the qualifying time), but she seems more motivated than ever,” Sarah Yacoviello said. “The disappointments along the way have always made her successes so much sweeter.”
In order to qualify for the trials, the time must come in a long-course pool of 50 meters rather than the 25-yard pool that is used in most high school and college meets where she typically swims. The long-course pool requires swimmers to swim a bit longer of a distance and to execute only three turns rather than the six turns required in a short-course pool.
“It is actually approximately a 20-second longer race, so it forces swimmers to sustain their tempo, which is a big adjustment,” Nelson said.
“The biggest adjustment is that it is hard to get in the right rhythm, but I will continue to go out and push myself, and my coach knows I can do it,” Molly Yacoviello said.
Pushing herself to huge accomplishments is nothing new for Yacoviello. A two-time YMCA national champion in the breaststroke and two-time top-eight finisher in the 200 and 400 individual medley, her best time in the 200 breaststroke already would project to qualify for the final at the Big Ten Championships.
“I know that it is going to be a fun ride for Molly, and she will continue to identify herself as not just a breaststroke swimmer, but as an elite swimmer,” Nelson said.
As Yacoviello continues that ride that has already taken her to great heights, she has gained inspiration from others who have traveled a similar journey.
On the wall of Yacoviello’s bedroom, a poster of Lilly King, the gold-medal winner at the 2016 Olympics and the world-record holder in the long-course 100 meter breaststroke, stares down at her, reminding her to keep pushing for her own swimming dreams, dreams that have come a long way since that little girl put in the work to master her first flip turn.
BURT WILSON | Sports Writer
