Rise ‘n shine

 

People can’t believe that Doug Wharam is at the YMCA by 5:15 every morning, but to Wharam, his daily routine is nothing extraordinary.

“The kids are here, and they work hard, and I love what I do. That makes it easy,” said Wharam, who was hired in August to lead the Y’s Shenandoah Marlins Aquatic Club – SMAC – competitive-swimming program.

Wharam oversees the training and competition regimens of 85 young SMAC swimmers, from learn-to-swim 8-and-unders to elite teens who compete at the national level.

Wharam came to Waynesboro most recently from Providence, R.I., where he was an age-group coach and volunteer assistant at Brown University. He has roots in Central Virginia, though, having competed on the club swimming team at the University of Virginia, where he also serves as a volunteer assistant coach.

“The opportunity to come back to this area was too much to turn down,” said Wharam of his move back to Virginia. Read more