Visual impairment can’t stop this swimmer

Grafton High School sophomore swimmer Dawson Memmel gets by with a little help from his coach, teammates and tapper.

Memmel was born with Leber congenital amaurosis, a visual disorder that gives him 20/150 vision, meaning he can see things at 20 feet that others can see at 150 feet.

That makes most sports difficult for Memmel to play, but swimming is possible. His coach Bailey Bodart knows this well; he taught him how to swim years ago.

“He’s a very good all-around swimmer,” Bodart said.

The first-year coach and former star swimmer for the Black Hawks has no problem inserting Memmel into a host of different races, including the 100-yard breaststroke, 50 and 100 freestyle, 200 individual medley and 100 butterfly.

But swimming presents one challenge for Memmel: seeing the wall and knowing when to turn.

Memmel’s mother Angie and Ozaukee Aquatics coach Tom Miazga developed an idea of a tapper.

A tennis ball is stuck onto the end of a walking cane and secured with duct tape. A teammate or coach taps Memmel on the head or neck when he is one stroke from the wall, signaling it’s time to do a flip turn.

Miazga said he won’t take credit for the idea of the tapper, but when he met Memmel he knew it would help. Miazga overcame cerebral palsy to break records as a U.S. Paralympic swimmer.

“As a former Paralympic swimmer myself, I’ve been fortunate to come across a myriad of tools and accommodations regarding training assistance,” he said.

Miazga said he was introduced to some of the devices for paraplegic, audio and visually impaired competitors at his first Paralympic swim meet.

“It was incredible to see such a collaboration of coaches and athletes provide insight, all for the sake of helping someone chase their passions and achieve goals,” Miazga said.

“With Dawson, I am happy that I can use my experiences to help guide and foster athletes towards the same dreams I had as a Paralympic athlete. Together, we’ve developed a very comfortable practice that we both feel confident in for any race.”

Memmel uses the tapper as a fail-safe during competition.

“I can do it in practice when it’s a somewhat slow pace,” he said of seeing the wall. “It’s just for meets so it’s easy to see. I don’t completely trust (my vision) because my depth perception is half of what it should be.”

Memmel wasn’t the only one who needed to get the hang of the process.

“It took me some practice. I tapped him too late sometimes,” Bodart said.

“Sometimes?” Memmel said.

“It’s hard when you’re coming in so fast,” Bodart said.

Sometimes a teammate taps him. Getting the timing right, Memmel said, depends who is doing the tapping.

Even Miazga said timing the tap can be tricky.

“If you’re new to being a tapper, it can be a bit of a nerve-wracking experience at first. The last thing you’d want is for Dawson to crash into the wall,” he said.

Memmel said he has bumped into the wall but was never hurt by it.

At meets, the team has to notify the officials about the tapper. The stipulation is if it’s used in one race, it has to be used in all of Memmel’s races.

Memmel has two tapping canes that sometimes require maintenance. Last season, the tennis ball fell off of one.

He has a solution for that too. He carries three rolls of duct tape with him.