Four high school swimmers. One grueling four-hour-a-day winter trial. A bond pushed far past the pool.
Stotan: A cross between a Stoic and a Spartin
It’s the last swimming season for Walker, Nortie, Lion, and Jeff, and their coach is building their self-discipline in a grueling four-hour-a-day test of stamina designed to bring them to the outer edge of their capabilities.
As it turns out, Stotan Week is also the week in which secrets are revealed, and the four friends must draw upon their new strengths for an endurance they never knew they’d need.
Under Coach Max Il Song, the boys endure frozen mornings of bearwalks, butterfly sets, and Torture Lane sprints, camping together on mattresses in Lion’s unheated room above a tavern to survive the week.
Between laps, the pressure forces long-buried pain to the surface, demanding a courage swimming drills alone cannot teach. Outside the pool, the four seniors confront family trauma and prejudice that threaten to break them before the championship season begins.
- Coming of Age: Walker Dupree pushes his training to the limit in pursuit of a state qualifying time, discovering that true maturity requires more than athletic discipline.
- Found Family: Orphaned artist Lionel Serbousek provides the team with fierce loyalty and eccentric humor, keeping the four teammates united through escalating personal hardships.
- Competitive Swimming: Operating as a four-man roster with no divers and no alternates, the Frost High School squad embarks on grueling road trips across the Pacific Northwest to challenge larger programs.
- Social Themes: When white supremacist literature circulates through their school, the four seniors refuse to remain silent, standing up against local bigots and schoolyard bullies.
- Also by This Author: Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes, Deadline and Whale Talk.
