It’s hard not to feel overwhelmed when you walk into Stone Ridge Aquatic Center in Bethesda. Black-and-white images of Stone Ridge alumnae Katie Ledecky and Phoebe Bacon fill the bay windows and can be seen before you enter. A life-size cardboard cutout of the two greets you at the door, quickly followed by a signed National Geographic cover of Ledecky hanging on the wall.
Large windows let light seep onto the pool, illuminating a record board that is filled by Olympians. On this afternoon, 24 swimmers from 11 high schools pack into the eight lanes. Each wears a different cap imprinted with her last name — except for one.
Virginia Hinds’s cap is plain white, dressed up only with an acronym, ASA. (Her club swim team is All Star Aquatics.) Hinds tarnished her cap by pulling down on it when she got nervous, the wear and tear eventually wiping out her name.
Despite those occasional nerves, the Bethesda-Chevy Chase sophomore tends to keep her attitude light, trying not to overanalyze her performance in the pool.
Other greats who have trained at Stone Ridge possess a similar line of thinking, Stone Ridge Coach Bob Walker said. Olympians Ledecky and Bacon come to mind.
“She has a good feel for the water,” Walker said of Hinds.
Hinds is ranked as the top sophomore swimmer in Maryland and 19th nationally in her class by Swimcloud. She announced herself as a force last February when she won the 100-yard backstroke (54:02) at the Maryland Class 4A/3A championship.
The momentum she gained from that meet has carried over. Hinds won five races at the Nova Senior Classic in October, including against former Virginia Class 6 state champion and Tennessee commit Lexi Stephens from Cosby High in Midlothian. She will return to the Maryland championships this weekend, hoping to cap a stellar winter with another state title.
Becoming a four-time state champion is on the table for Hinds, Bethesda-Chevy Chase Coach Jason Blanken said. While the coach is cautious about projecting those types of expectations, Hinds confirmed that is a goal.
“When she graduates, she could be the best swimmer we see at B-CC for a very long time,” Blanken added.
Hinds trains four times a week at Stone Ridge, where practice is not for the casual swimmer.
At this afternoon session, she shares a lane with another B-CC swimmer and a Richard Montgomery junior. Despite being the youngest of the group, she swims first every time, a sign of her standing among her peers. Every time she finishes a lap, a large Olympic flag stares back at her.
One of Hinds’s hopes is to compete at the Olympic trials in Indianapolis in June. To go from watching the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016 to competing for a spot on Team USA would be “surreal,” she said.
“I just look at a lot of the swimmers around me in the U.S. that are doing better than me or just as well as me, and they kind of give me motivation,” Hinds said.
Bethesda-Chevy Chase is one of the favorites to win the state meet. In recent years, the Barons’ title hopes have been spoiled by rival Walter Johnson. The Wildcats topped the Barons last season by just 21 points.
But this season, the Barons will have the biggest name at the event.
Naturally, she looks up to Ledecky and Bacon, who are omnipresent at her training sessions. Everyone involved in Hinds’s career agrees it’s too early to put her on the same pedestal as two Olympians. Walker said Hinds is about five tenths of a second slower than Bacon at the same age. Her 100 backstroke best is 52.87 seconds; Bacon clocked 51.6 at the same age. But in the 100 freestyle, Hinds’s 49.78 is more than a second faster than Bacon’s best.
The shy, broad-shouldered teenager has a ways to go until June, but if all goes well, her faded, no-name cap might soon receive an upgrade to red, white and blue.
