This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Heber City • At first glance, nothing seemed unusual about the group of boys walking on the sidewalk in front of the Wasatch High School football stadium toward the tiny community swimming pool for a meet last Thursday. They chatted and joked.

But, upon closer look, the boy in the middle held a white cane. But that long stick was the only thing that distinguished 16-year-old sophomore Kale Walker, blind since birth, from his friends.

That scene might have been unusual three months ago, when Kale decided to become a member of the 77-athlete Wasp swim team. Kids in the school knew who the kid with the cane was, but few really knew him as a friend or a person. Being a member of the swim team changed that.

His father, Korey, said Kale is socially different now than three months ago. He has an air of self-confidence. His mom, Merrie, said three different girls asked her son to the next dance. None of them is on the swim team.

"The most powerful thing as a parent is to watch him develop socially through his interaction with the swim team," said Merrie, a mother of five whose youngest daughter, 8-year-old Mia, has also been blind since birth. "It's been a struggle, since he was born blind, for him to reach out socially. People were kind to him and knew who he is. But, until the swim team, it wasn't like he had friends who wanted to hang out with him and do social things. … There has been an increase in his social life that a mom just can't orchestrate."

For his part, Walker takes his newfound attention in stride.

"I just like that I have a sport to do and I can actually talk to kids and be part of a team," said the nearly straight-A student who also loves to ride tractors on the family farm and looks forward to learning how to fix cars in shop class. "Before the swim team, I would always come home from school, do my homework and start browsing YouTube. Now I actually have a sport to do."

Getting in the water • Walker's introduction to swimming wasn't a gentle one. His mother said that, as a 4-year-old, Kale walked through an open gate in St. George and stepped into a pool. While his parents quickly grabbed him, the experience spooked the young boy. For years, he never wanted to lose contact with the wall of a pool.

"Before I went on a cruise, usually the swim teachers had to hold on to me because I was afraid of drowning," he said. "The pool on the cruise ship I swam around fine without holding on to anything."

A year later, the Walkers signed their son up for swimming lessons at a sports camp in Lehi sponsored by the Utah Foundation for the Blind. When he heard about tryouts this fall, he mentioned to his braille teacher, Ellen Harwin, that he might like to try out, and Harwin let Walker's parents and veteran Wasatch swimming coach Steve Marsing know.

Marsing, who taught Walker in a health class a year ago, heard that he did a little swimming and asked him about it, but didn't pursue him being a member of the team. When Harwin emailed him that Walker wanted to try out, Marsing was more than happy to give it a go.

Early on, Walker did what could best be described as a dog paddle, Marsing said. It was difficult, as all the team's swimmers share the tiny, crowded six-lane pool, and Walker needed an entire lane to himself because he would weave back and forth. Now, Walker's strokes look great and he practices with groups of swimmers in the same lane.

Teammate Ethan Miller noted that Marsing, who has coached high school swimming in Utah for over 30 years, never tells stories to the team about the fastest swimmers he has coached. Instead, he talks about those like Walker who worked hard and improved.

And Walker is improving.

"He has gotten so much better," said assistant coach Abi Schofield, who, along with fellow assistants Theron Gustafson and Mary Hill, helps Walker. "He was in a relay last weekend with three others guys. He went first and raced the whole thing in under a minute in the 50 freestyle. They took last, but it was so cool to see them work together as a team."

Inspiring others • Walker seems to be giving more to the swim team than he is receiving, despite finishing last in the 50-yard freestyle and 200-yard breaststroke last week.

Maelin Sorenson, a top distance swimmer for the Wasps who joins Schofield, Miller and fellow swimmer Paul Fitzgerald in giving Walker some extra attention, said she entered the season burned out from swimming, with the pressure of major expectations eating her up. Working with Walker changed that perspective.

"He saved my swim season," she said, fighting back tears. "My motivation was back, and I want to repay Kale because he saved my senior season."

Sorenson, who said she would like to major in optometry since working with Walker, sometimes is in the water to help her blind friend make a turn. Other times she and Fitzgerald use a long stick with a tennis ball to gently tap him on the head as he approaches the wall. Miller, who said getting to know Walker has inspired him to go into medicine, often swims near Walker in practice and helps keep him in the right lane.

"Kale gave me a different outlook on things," said Fitzgerald, who roomed with Walker on a recent trip to St. George. "He taught me not to be selfish and praise him for what he has been able to do."

Going off the blocks above the water has been a challenge for Walker, who has no idea what's below him when he leaps.

"I don't like heights," he said. "At a theme park, I try to pick one of the slower roller coasters. I feel kind of nervous when I step on that block. But, after, I feel kind of good after I jump off the block."

On Thursday in a tri-meet that included Provo and Salem Hills, Walker made that leap of faith. After Schofield helped him on the blocks, he jumped in feet first, holding his nose, before beginning the 50-yard freestyle.

The building turned into a madhouse. Swimmers from all three teams surrounded the pool and parents in the packed stands stood, screaming encouragement. The reaction and support from other swim teams and parents from opposing schools transcended any rivalry.

"The other teams get up and cheer," said Sorenson. "He can hear. He has remarkable hearing. That's so huge in the water. … We are no longer rivals. We are cheering for the same cause. Our relationship with other teams in the locker room has changed. It's no longer 'our family and your family.' Now we're just a huge swim family."

She said that before Walker tried out for the swim team, kids in school knew who he was but didn't spend much time hanging out. Now, at lunch, he comes to the swim table.

"It's a huge thing for everybody," said Sorenson. "We've seen the real Kale. He is a person you want to find out more about. He makes you happy, and that's contagious. I just love that and how it has built the team. If he wasn't on the team, we wouldn't be as strong."

Twitter: @Tribtomwharton —

Paying it forward

Kale Walker's parents, Korey and Merrie, have started a family charity called Kalemia, named after their two blind children. They raise funds to help blind kids in Utah become more active by offering scholarships for teachers going into the field of special education for the blind and to help educate other families as to the possibilities for blind students. The website is http://www.Kalemia.org and emails can be sent to Kalemia.org@gmail.com.