Photo by Steve Buchanan Photography
Few elite swimmers at the high school level can match Fiona Schere’s commitment and grit. Schere, a senior at Key School, trains 17 hours a week across seven days competing for nationally-ranked North Baltimore Aquatic Club, where Michael Phelps developed into a world champion. NBAC also has produced more than 100 college swimmers in the past decade.
Schere’s time spent in the pool is grueling, but the hour commute—when she is driven by her mother Divina, including two times a day, twice every week—makes for an even longer day. She leaves her Severn home at 5 a.m. for 6 a.m. Tuesday and Thursday practices, then goes to school and then goes back to NBAC for afternoon workouts. But the 17-year-old Schere, who participates on her school team, too, thrives on all the challenges of swimming and school.
“Honestly, it (the NBAC schedule) has been rough,” says Schere, who competed 10 years for the Annapolis Swim Club before joining NBAC. “But I think it’s definitely worth it. NBAC was the right fit for me and I was happy that I found it.”
Schere has taken her swimming to a higher level by improving her times and getting mentally tougher. She specializes in the 50- and 100-yard freestyle and 100 breaststroke. Her biggest accomplishment with NBAC? Swimming a leg on the International Swimming Club Association national champion 400 freestyle relay in St. Petersburg, Florida in March.
“I really have improved and grown as a swimmer,” Schere says. “It really has helped my confidence.” Her determination has paid huge dividends. The 5-foot-9 Schere will be swimming at UCLA on a scholarship. She also received offers from Alabama, Kentucky, Auburn, and Northwestern.
NBAC Head Senior Coach Paul Yetter says Schere should thrive at UCLA. “Right now, she is at the point where if she makes another little jump with her times, she could be one of the better swimmers in the PAC 12,” Yetter explains. “It’s one of the best conferences in the country. I think she is ready to make a breakthrough. It’s possible for her to be the best swimmer in the conference.”
Schere couldn’t pass UCLA up. The Bruins ranked 21st in the country in the College Swimming Coaches of America final poll last season. “I loved everything about the school,” Schere says. “The coaches are amazing. I thought I could grow more as a swimmer there than at any of the other colleges. That’s what drew me in.”
Schere started to establish herself at age 12 as an elite swimmer when she qualified for a national event, the Futures Championships, in Richmond, Virginia, in 2016. But her career really took shape when she signed up for NBAC the following year. Over the next four years, she qualified six times—three in the winter and three in the summer—for the USA Swimming Junior National Championships in California and North Carolina.
“She is pretty close to a drop-dead sprinter, and there are not many others like her around,” Yetter says. “She is a great swimmer because she is a great racer. She is tenacious. She’s got an edge about her when she races that she really wants to win.”
Schere has set three records in the Maryland State Championships: in the 50 breast (9–10 age group); 50 free (13–14); and 100 free (15–16). She also set two Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland records (50 and 100 free) during her sophomore year at Key School.
“She has an unbelievable work ethic,” Key Swimming Coach John Villareal says. “Her schedule is ridiculous and not a lot of kids can do what she does.”
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