Junior Zachary Geller started swimming at the club level when he was seven.  

In the years since,  Geller has grown to be a national competitor and a vital member of the boys varsity swim team, setting records and helping the team win last year’s  Southwest Preparatory Conference title. 

Teammates are in awe of his growth, both in and out of the pool. 

“Over the years, [Geller] has developed so much as a swimmer and a person,” said senior J.J. Arbuckle, Geller’s teammate on both the Greenhill team and his club team.  

Club Swimming 

At a young age, following his parents’ wishes, Geller began competitive swimming. He  soon found his passion within it.  

“I joined club swimming when I was around seven, and I started getting serious about it when I was nine,” Geller said. “I realized it was something that I liked and that I was good at.” 

Geller initially started his club swimming career with a shortened schedule, attending practices three days a week.  

At age 10, Geller learned about the state championship that his club team was scheduled to attend and set it as his goal to work toward. Investing more time in swimming, Geller began logging two-hour practices, six days a week. That became his normal schedule. 

Being on a club team has been instrumental in his growth as an athlete, according to Geller. A typical club practice for him consists of weight training, also known as “drylands,” followed by two hours of swimming.  

“I would say I get mostly all my improvements from club training,” Geller said. “I really enjoy swimming for the school team as well, but my year-round training for club is where most of the work gets done.” 

Geller and Arbuckle regularly compete and train daily together on their club team, the Dallas Mustangs. Arbuckle says he enjoys training with Geller. 

“[Geller] consistently pushes me to get better as well, especially in a club setting where things can get competitive,” Arbuckle said.  

Last summer, Geller and Arbuckle attended the USA Swimming Futures Championships, also known as Futures, in Minneapolis.  

The competition that culminates with the national championships unfolds at successive levels. The first of these levels is Sectionals, which are at the state level. This is followed by Futures, in which swimmers compete in one of four zones: central, eastern, southern and western. Above Futures is Junior Nationals, with summers up to the age of 18 competing in both summer and winter championships.   

“I made the finals of Futures, which is always good,” Geller said. “It was a really cool experience to be at that level.” 

This is Geller’s biggest individual meet, along with attending Junior Nationals as part of a relay team.  

Greenhill Swimming 

Starting in his freshman year, Geller has been a member of the Greenhill varsity swim team for three years. 

“I could already see that he had potential to be a really talented swimmer and a big contributor to our team,” said  Head Coach Patti Monzingo. 

Competitions consist of four different styles of swimming: freestyle,  breaststroke, backstroke and butterfly.   

“My responsibility on the team is to place well in the events that I compete in, which mainly is backstroke, but I also compete in other events as well,” Geller said.  

Senior Andrew Cai, a Greenhill swim teammate, says Geller’s work ethic is an inspiration. 

“[Geller] is a really hard worker and is just in general a super nice guy,” Cai said. “He makes me want to continue working to get better as well.” 

Although Geller doesn’t have an official leadership role on the team, many teammates look up to him. 

“He is a role model for many of his teammates,” Cai said. “He’s so nice and supportive of everyone but at the same time he’s so competitive when you need him to be competitive.” 

Arbuckle says Geller’s competitive spirit is incredibly important for the swim team’s success. 

“He really knows how to rise to the occasion,” Arbuckle said. “If there is a hard set in practice, he won’t back down and he knows how to keep going even when others give up or get tired.” 

Monzingo says Geller’s desire is what motivates him to succeed. 

“He does what we call ‘purposeful swimming,’ where he thinks about what he hopes to achieve when doing a set in practice instead of just going through the motions,” Monzingo said. “That is something that we really appreciate about him.” 

SPC Champions 

Last season, both the girls and boys varsity swim teams secured SPC titles. The girls team won the 4A division and the boys won the 3A division for the first time in Greenhill history.  

“[Geller] contributed a lot through the points that he got for our team,” Arbuckle said. “He held his own against some really tough competition and ended up getting our team a lot of points.” 

At the championships, Geller broke an SPC and school record in the 200-yard freestyle race. 

Racing someone historically faster than him, Geller attributes his record time to his opponent.  

“I was around eight seconds slower than the guy next to me, which is a lot,” Geller said. “So, I just chose to keep up with him and I did, and I ended up winning and breaking the record.” 

Since freestyle is not his primary stroke, Geller says he was not familiar with his pace in that race.  

“I did not have a baseline, so I just went off the guy next to me,” Geller said. “I’m glad he was fast because I would have gone at the same speed he went.” 

Geller broke the SPC record for the 100-yard backstroke race with a time of 51.87 seconds.  

“Him breaking the SPC and school record was really significant because he beat a really fast 3A competitor, which was really unprecedented,” Arbuckle said. “He really set the tone for the meet and served as an inspiration even to me.” 

Balancing Act 

With his schedule being filled with club swimming practices and meets, Geller is left with little time for homework and other extracurricular activities. 

“Club [swimming] is a really big time commitment,” Geller said. “I only get home at around nine every day because of practices after school and then I eat dinner, so I end up starting my homework at 10.”  

To navigate his busy schedule and continue to stay on top of his schoolwork, Geller had to find ways to compensate for a lack of time. 

“It just forced me to become more productive,” Geller said. “I usually come in and work before school and even during lunch, so I don’t have as much to do after school.”  

Geller’s dedication to swimming and consistent effort is recognized by both his peers and his coaches.  

“We want to be able to help him with anything that he needs to be able to pursue a desire to swim at the collegiate level,” Monzingo said. “We want to help in any way we can.” 

Geller expresses anticipation for the Greenhill swim team’s quest for another SPC title.  

“I’m really excited about this upcoming season because I think we can do really well and hopefully we win again,” Geller said.