Swim sisters: Kelley (left) and Ally McHugh each had strong showings for Little Flower at the recent PIAA state swim tournament. PHOTO COURTESY OF ANDREA MCHUGH
Consider Sean Clothier one of the lucky ones.
The head coach of the Little Flower swim program just saw his prized pupil, Ally McHugh, wrap up what he calls the finest career for a female swimmer in the history of the Catholic League. She will soon graduate and move on to Penn State, but Clothier will be left with Ally’s younger sister, Kelley, still just a sophomore, who the coach says has the talent and ability to be just as good — if not better — than her older sibling before all is said and done.
What makes this era of Little Flower swimming even more exciting is that the sisters have done it their own way. There’s Ally, who quietly and intensely worked her way to a qualifying spot for the 2016 Olympic Swimming Trials; and then there’s Kelley, the loosey-goosey jokester who is crafting quite the career for herself despite living in her older sister’s sizable shadow. They’re completely different personalities linked by one common, crucial trait.
“You can tell they’re both really close, but at the same time each is her own person,” Clothier said. “It’s not an instance where you have two siblings who are clones. On the deck, Ally is all business. She doesn’t say much, because in her mind, she’s there to get a job done. Kelley is the funniest kid on the team and more social, which is how she prepares. But in the water, the work ethics of both are through the roof.
“They don’t do what other swimmers with natural talent do, which is rely only on that. The uncontested work ethic propels them even further. And it can be tough for sisters, especially a girl like Kelley, who would be the best swimmer in the league if not for Ally. Swimming in the shadow of the most talented swimmer of all-time in the league can be tough mentally, but Kelley doesn’t let that bother her. She’s created her own identity. They complement each other perfectly, the yin to the other’s yang.”
And while it may seem like an intrafamily competition to those on the outside, that’s not how the McHugh sisters see things. Rather, they view themselves as products of the other’s successes: Kelley is advanced as a sophomore because she’s learned so much from her older sister, while Ally credits Kelley’s unwavering encouragement and support through years of training as the linchpin of her many accomplishments.
In her four-year career at Little Flower, Ally McHugh has never lost an individual league or district race. She has qualified for the PIAA state championships in eight individual events over four years (the most possible), winning two state medals and qualifying for the PIAA all-state team on three occasions. She’s an 11-time District 12 champion, holds league and district records in the 200 individual medley (IM) and is the only Catholic League swimmer to ever qualify for the Olympic Swimming Trials. At the recent state championships, she finished seventh overall in the 200 IM and ninth in the 500 freestyle, setting a school record in that event.
For Kelley, progress is still fluid. She just completed her sophomore season and broke a school record in the 100 backstroke at states, while going under two minutes (1:57.73) for the first time ever in the 200 freestyle. Kelley has qualified for states in each of her two seasons (she finished 24th in the 200 freestyle and 30th in the 100 backstroke) and is already a six-time champion at districts. She dropped her times in every state race she swam in, a task even Ally couldn’t claim to have accomplished.
“Kelley and I have always had a close bond that’s been strengthened through swimming,” Ally said. “We train hard every day, and it’s really become a family journey. Anytime that I’ve ever questioned myself or why I’m putting so much into this, she’s there to pick me up. If I have a bad race and am doubting my training, she tells me to focus on the next one. That’s what a sister is there for, to pick me up when I fall down. She has an incredible work ethic. She just works her butt off every day in practice and really inspires me to keep pushing. I know as the older sister she’s supposed to look up to me, but I look up to her, too. She’s a confident, incredible person.”
“I know that if she didn’t swim with me every day that I wouldn’t be as dedicated,” Kelley added. “It really helps me having her on the deck. Just knowing she’s there and everything she’s accomplished, it makes me want to try harder to get to where she is. She’s the first one to hug me when I get out of the pool. I love having her beside me, and it’s going to be hard without her next year.”
Ally McHugh is bound for Penn State, and will spend much of the next year-plus swimming collegiately as well as trying to qualify for the 2016 Olympics. She was one of the first qualifiers for next year’s trials, and has about 14 months to keep dropping her times. It will be a longshot to make the United States team in Rio de Janeiro (the team takes the top two finishers with the best times in each event), but just to have the opportunity is a tremendous accomplishment.
“I think it’s always been a goal of mine to get to the Olympics and win a medal, the way it is for every swimmer,” she said. “Everyone wants it, but few get the opportunity to get there. Whatever happens, happens; I’ll just trust my training and ability. I’m nervous, but thrilled.”
The McHugh sisters began swimming in their early days of grade school at St. Jerome. They weren’t a “swimming family” with a background or pedigree in the sport, but they soon became one. Both have tried other sports, namely volleyball, but none have provided the allure that being in the water has.
“Swimming is where our hearts are,” Kelley said. “It’s brought us closer on so many levels, and we’ve both loved it since we started.”
And as far as Kelley’s future goes, Clothier says the sky’s the limit.
“This year was a real coming out party for Kelley, and she really made a name for herself,” he said. “She realized she could be just as good if not better than Ally while stepping out of her shadow and creating a persona for herself. She knows she’s not Ally and never will be; rather, she knows she can be her own story while accomplishing some of the same things in her own way.”
Throughout the journey in the pool for the McHugh sisters, this much is clear: neither would be where they are now if not for each other.
“I’m so proud of her, and I’ve tried to motivate her to help her reach her goals,” Kelley said. “The ride has been bumpy sometimes, but I know that anytime I turn around, she’s right there behind me: on the deck, at school or at home.”
“I think it was unimaginable to us both in the beginning that we’d get out of swimming what we already have,” Ally added. “Over time we realized how much we loved it, and now we’d never take it back. I’m honored to be the one to put the school on the map this way, but now it’s Kelley’s turn. I’m a lot stronger because of her, and she’s the best sister I could have ever hoped or asked for.” ••
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