2007 Girls All-Star Swim Team

Talent and devotion to swimming runs in the family, but coach Steve Baxter is making sure that push never becomes much of a shove.

Published online on Tuesday, Jun. 19, 2007

Steve Baxter presides over a Clovis West High swimming program that has no equal in the Central Section.

He does so with a meticulousness that leaves no detail unaccounted for, no motivational button unpushed and no apologies.

“I’m pretty fanatical about it,” Baxter said. “I’m a competitive person. It’s not that I can’t stand losing, I just like trying to figure out how to win.”

But when it comes to his daughter, freshman sensation Tristin, Baxter eases off the accelerator. He even encourages his daughter to play water polo, despite a family pedigree that suggests Tristin could become a world-class swimmer if she choose that as her singular focus.

“We like the idea that she does polo and swimming,” Steve Baxter said. “It takes the edge out of it. We want swimming to happen on its own. If she gets to the point where she’s a world-class swimmer, she will do it because she wants to, not because it’s something coming from her mom or dad.”

And it’s hard to argue with the results.

Baxter led the Golden Eagles’ girls team — powered by Tristin’s individual victories in the 200 free and 500 free — to an 11th consecutive Central Section championship while guiding the boys to a ninth straight title.

Steve and Tristin Baxter are The Bee’s first Coach and Girls Swimmer of the Year. Exeter junior Sam Goates, who won section gold in the 50 free and 100 back for the third straight year, also was in the running for the girls swimmer honor.

Tristin, however, was the only section girl with two automatic All America times, swimming a 1:51.27 in the 200 free and a 4:57.44 in the 500 free.

“It was really exciting,” said Tristin, who also was the anchor of the Golden Eagles’ section-winning 200 free and 400 free relay teams. “I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to do that.”

Her immediate success comes as a surprise to few others though.

After all, Tristin’s father was a two-time NCAA champion and four-time All American at UCLA. Her mother, An, was the first woman to break 9 minutes in the 800 free and was a 1972 Olympian. And if that’s not enough, her aunt, Terri Baxter, was a member of the 1980 Olympic team.

“I think it’s really neat to know my parents have done that, and my aunt has done that,” Tristin said. “I like it because it gives me something to look forward to, a goal to try for, like the Olympics.”

Not that Steve or An will push Tristin to follow in their footsteps.

The Baxter’s sons, Kyle and Trent, both gravitated toward water polo and will play together next season at UC-Irvine. Tristin is an accomplished water polo player, too. She’s a member of the cadet national team and was the MVP for section runner-up Clovis West this past season.

“I know whatever I do, it’s my decision,” Tristin said. “I don’t have to swim if I don’t want to, but I love it.

“Right now, I really don’t want to choose because I like both. But I think later on which one I choose will depend on how well I develop. I know if I want to be like my parents, I can’t do both forever.”

Even if she continues to play water polo, Steve Baxter said it is not inconceivable for Tristin to leave high school with 14 to 16 section titles between individual and relay races.

And proud papa isn’t the only one signing Tristin’s praises.

“We’ve had some pretty good swimmers around here, from Nicole Omphroy at Clovis to [Clovis West’s Kristen] Hastrup to [Clovis West’s Shellene] Catalano, and Tristin’s the next one,” Buchanan coach Dave Pickford said. “And maybe in certain events, she may be the best one.”

Pickford has a unique perspective on Tristin and the Golden Eagles’ program as the coach of their biggest rivals.

His top girls swimmer — Emily Greenwood — swam stroke-for-stroke with Tristin in the 200 free, and the Bears’ girls squad was the only team that’s come within 100 points of any of Clovis West’s section champions over the past 11 years.

Since moving to Clovis West from Southern California 11 years ago, Steve Baxter’s swimmers have won 65 individual and 39 relay section titles, success that comes as no accident according to Pickford.

“Everyone in that program feels they are important to the program,” Pickford said. “Not just the All Americans, but even the freshman who went 63 in the 100 back. He really plays up the tradition.”

Baxter took over as the Golden Eagles’ coach after running club program in Southern California.

He works his swimmers year-round and stresses a four-year commitment to the program. But it’s not always strictly business with Baxter. He also takes his team on trips, hosts pizza nights and does anything else he can think of to create team unity.

“I wanted to make sure the kids enjoyed what they are doing,” Baxter said. “As demanding as swimming is, it still has to be fun. I am just really lucky to have a lot of kids who listen and really want to be the best they can be.”

The reporter can be reached at ngiannandrea@fresnobee.com or (559) 622-2407.