From Homeschool Hurricanes to the National Stage

A former Homeschool Hurricane, Abby Kershaw, is making her way to the national stage! Abby will be representing Team USA at the ParaPan am games this month! Named to the US National Para Swimming Team last month, Abby will be competing in the ParaPan games in Santiago, Chile from November 17-25.

Abby has a full meet schedule and will be swimming the 200 Freestyle, 200IM, 100 Back, 100 Fly, 100 Breast and the mixed 4x100 Free Relay. Abby was selected to the National Para Swimming team since she currently holds an American record along with the other members of the mixed 4x100 relay team. She also got silver in 200free at the Citi Para World Series in April. Abby did not know she would be competing at the ParaPanAm games until it was announced on instagram last month! She was overjoyed with the news of course. In talking with Abby’s dad, he said he heard a scream from upstairs and wasn’t sure what had happened, and she came running at him to show him her phone with Instagram post announcing that she has made the National Team.

Abby began swimming competitively when she was 12. She trained at the YMCA and with Coach Traci and the Homeschool Hurricanes. Her first US Para event was at age 15 in Cortland, New York. Now 19, Abby competes in both local juniors meets, masters swim meets and national meets.

Abby’s mom, Mary Kershaw, states that the local meets can often be more stressful because there are so many people on deck. At the National meets, there are only officials and timers on deck and athletes wait in a call room and walk out to the blocks together. It is less stressful but more exciting because she swims along side Paralympians. The travel and expenses are costly so Abby doesn’t swim in as many National meets as local meets, which makes the opportunity to represent Team USA at the ParaPan Games in Santiago especially exciting.

In order to prepare for the ParaPanAm games, Abby spent some time this fall at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. The camp Abby attended was an emerging camp, not a resident camp. The athletes attended two 90 minute training sessions each day, plus dryland. This rigorous schedule introduces the swimmers to what their future could look like.

If you would like to send Abby a note of good luck, you can email her parents HERE. If you would like to watch her swims, the entirety of the PanAm Games will be streaming for free on the PanAm Sports Channel.