Mitch Robin is just 15 years old, but he's already making a big splash in the pool.
Robin, looking every bit a swimmer at six-foot-three and 175 pounds, is bound for the Canada Summer Games as part of Team Saskatchewan.
The Prince Albert Shark tied for first in the 100-metre backstroke at a Regina qualifying meet to gain one of the 12 male berths on the Saskatchewan swim team headed to the Games this August in Prince Edward Island.
"It should be a lot of fun," said Robin, a Grade 9 student at St. Mary High School.
Despite his relative youth, Robin just misses out on the age-eligibility cutoff for the next Canada Games in four years, so he plans to make the most of this summer's meet.
"I haven't been swimming for as long as most people in the sport, my age," he said. "(I started) when I was around 10, but lots of people begin competitive swimming when they're around six."
He remembers what he liked about swimming in those early days.
"I could fool around a lot in practice, which is probably what made me want to keep coming back," Robin said with a laugh.
"My parents tried (putting me in) everything, and swimming clicked."
Robin is clicking among the best young swimmers in Canada. He has also qualified for the age-group nationals and the Manitoba-Saskatchewan provincial championships in July. Those meets will help to determine the Games entries for each event.
Size matters in the pool, and the lanky Robin has times to prove it.
"Well, it does give me that extra foot on the wall," he said. "But, in addition, it gives me bigger reach. (And) bigger hands and feet come with that, also."
A big-time Olympian - Michael Phelps - is among Robin's swimming heroes.
"I know people are hard on him for the drugs and stuff, but I don't know," Robin said. "The guy practises three times a day, so he pretty much gave up his life for swimming. And he got as far as he wanted to go, so good for him.
"I don't think (his personal indiscretions were) the right thing to do, but I almost think he deserved (a break) after working so hard."
Balancing sports and a social life is a tall order for any athlete.
"With my commitment, I'm still nowhere near what (Phelps) was doing (in training), and it's still hard for me," Robin said. "After a year of swimming, there's nothing I want more than a month off."
But he's not complaining about this summer's busy schedule, especially with the Canada Games in the mix.
"No late nights," said Robin, who wakes up at 5:15 for his 6 a.m. practices.
Along with a serious commitment, he showed resiliency during the Team Saskatchewan trials last month, fighting off a cold to land a Games berth.
"That says a lot about a kid, under physical distress, stepping up and getting the job done," said Saskatchewan head coach Jeff Toth. "That says a lot about the kind of tenacity that kids in Saskatchewan have.
"Mitch had a great trials meet. He managed to overcome illness and really dug into it. The boys' pool was deep - vastly talented."
Robin is showing big-league potential in the pool.
As for how far he can go, "I'll cross that bridge when I get to it," he said.
"There are so many other opportunities that could await me. There's senior nationals every year, age-group nationals, and recruiters looking to give out scholarships, probably mostly from the U.S."
