Variety Stories: Ken

Ken loves to swim. But for him, swimming hasn’t just been an activity. It’s helped shape his life.

Ken was adopted at 18 months of age through the Children’s Aid Society, and experienced trauma in the first grade due to a chaotic classroom experience. Fortunately, Ken spent time with a psychotherapist and naturopathic doctor, which helped him heal. The other large part of his healing and growth was his passion to swim. 

Ken has been swimming at Variety Village since he was just 18 months old, and in the fourth grade he started homeschooling, which allowed more time for his favourite passion. This is when the therapeutic benefit of swimming began to shine. When Ken enters the water, the impact is instant — becoming lighter, happier, and more relaxed. More time in the pool has helped Ken develop his self-esteem and a positive self-image even further.

Being a part of Variety Village’s Flames’ swim team has helped Ken in feeling accepted and validated on his journey with mental health. In the water he feels comfortable no matter what, even if he is the only kid in the pool.

The Flames Swim program is an integrated competitive swim team that provides opportunities for training and competition to swimmers at all levels, ages, stages, and abilities. The team has a long history of developing swimmers who reach provincial, national and international levels. Our swimmers focus on developing fundamental skills in preparation for competition.

The Flames Swim team offers various training and program options. To learn more, please contact the head coach. Team Manager: Anna Atell, aatell@varietyontario.ca