Treading water

Paige Tatarek has influenced the swimming community in Birmingham for almost 44 years.

Tatarek was born and raised in Mountain Brook and started swimming when she was 18 months old. She eventually became a top swimmer and breaststroker in the Southeast.

Tatarek’s next-door neighbor when she was growing up was a swimmer, and the family introduced Tatarek’s mom to swimming. That is when she started.

“The boy next door looked at my mom and said, ‘Mrs. Fitzpatrick, let’s take her floaters off,’ and they just threw me into our pool, and I have loved it ever since then,” Tatarek said.

Tatarek started on the Country Club of Birmingham’s swim team when she was 5 years old. Even that young, she said she did not like getting second place.

“My mom did say she knew I was competitive when I got mad the first time I got out of the pool because I got a red ribbon instead of a blue ribbon,” Tatarek said.

After swimming for a couple of years at the Country Club of Birmingham, Tatarek swam for the YMCA Shades Valley and joined the Birmingham Swim League.

Tatarek stopped swimming competitively during her senior year of high school and started coaching at the Country Club of Birmingham. She’s been coaching there for 22 years, currently teaching more than 200 kids.

Along with coaching at the Country Club of Birmingham, after Tatarek got married she coached at the Birmingham Swim League for a few years.

Tatarek now coaches full-time at the Levite Jewish Community Center Aquatic Club. She started its team in 2012.

Liz Holley said Tatarek is a fantastic coach and person and a tireless worker, loved by both the kids and their parents. Tatarek teaches Holley’s 9-year-old daughter, Mac, at the JCC.

“She pushes the kids to work and try hard while still maintaining a fun and friendly environment. Paige has the unique ability to skillfully balance discipline and hard work with fun and camaraderie,” Holley said.

Tatarek said her mother was the biggest influence in her life when she was growing up as a young swimmer.

“My mom drove me all over the Southeast for swim meets, and one of my children plays club volleyball, and we travel a lot for that, so it has made me appreciate what my mom did for me, because now I understand what she has been through,” she said.

Tatarek said Peter Browne and Johnny Barnacastle were her two favorite coaches when she was growing up.

Browne coached Tatarek at the Country Club of Birmingham, and Barnacastle coached her at the YMCA Shades Valley.

Tatarek said Browne and Barnacastle had the biggest influence on her because they were fun, motivating, upbeat and, most importantly, cared about her.

“They both cared about what was going on in the pool and what was going on in our life outside the pool. I felt like they were more than just coaches. They were mentors as well because they cared about my personal life,” she said.

Tatarek said her goals vary for each individual swimmer because some swimmers do it strictly for exercise; some swimmers do it so they could swim in college, and some want to qualify for the Olympic trials.

“The most important thing for me is that I want them to have a love for the sport and feel confident in what they are doing. Swimming is one of those things that you’re going to get out of it of what you put into it,” she said.

Tatarek said she wants to be involved in the swimmers’ lives because a lot of times it affects what is going on in the water.

“I want to be somebody the kids can look up to as someone who has a strong moral character and who does the right things,” she said.

Tatarek said there is a time to get in the pool for work, and she wants the swimmers to learn from that because it will teach them how to push themselves in life.

“There is a lot you can learn in the pool that can help you in life outside of the pool. There are days that you are not going to feel well, and you just don’t want to be there, and you have to dig down deep and find a way to still do your best,” she said.

Tatarek said swimming doesn’t come easy for everybody, and swimmers need to set goals to achieve what they want.

“You’re going to have to give up some things, but at the same time, I want my kids to have a balanced life between their friends and school, so they don’t burn out,” she said.