JIM OBERDIER

The News Herald

William Hodges' 13th birthday is still several months away.

If his feet are any indication, he'll soon be in a man's body swimming among boys.

On Saturday, Hodges may have given a glimpse of the very near future to those attending the Gulf Coast ``End of Summer'' Invitational at the Gulf Coast pool.

Representing the Gulf Coast Aquatics-Panama City Swim Team, Hodges took three individual events in the 11-12 boys group and was on a good pace to win his second high-point trophy in three weeks heading into today's final day of competition.

``He's flat-footed, but you don't have to have good arches to swim,'' his mother, Betsy Hodges said. ``A coach out here was telling us that colleges look for tall swimmers who have big feet. The young swimmer has size 91/2 shoes.

``People have joked that he could be the next Joey Darnell.''

Darnell, who heads into his senior year at Mosley as one of the best Bay County swimmers, also swims for GCA-PCST. According to Hodges' mother, Darnell has taken the 5-foot-3, 101-pounder under his tutelage.

In practice, Hodges routinely swims with his older teammates in the long-distance events.

Hodges won three times in his 11-12 age group _ the 100-yard freestyle (1 minute, 4.10 seconds), the 50 backstroke (33.78) and the 200 individual medley (2:42.59).

Hodges took second in the 50 breaststroke, losing by almost four seconds to teammate Taylor Hooten. Hodges got some payback later in the 200 IM, when he beat Hooten by less than a second.

``Taylor said himself he had a bad (final) turn because he swallowed some water,'' Hodges said. ``He's usually really fast in the breaststroke.''

Hodges also took his mark in the senior division of 500-yard freestyle, racing against swimmers who will be high school sophomores, juniors and seniors next month.

Hodges is scheduled to compete in the seniors' 400 IM today.

That event, which will be the final one of the two-day meet, should be Hodges' 11th race.

``We never get any lip out of him,'' GCA-PCST coach Talitha Pigford said. ``He's in both of the long-distance senior events, so he's going over and beyond what we've asked him to do.''

With Darnell's help and the training he's received from GCA-PCST, Hodges has blossomed into one of the team's best young swimmers, even though he's only been swimming competitively for two years.

``It usually takes kids several years to build up to the speed he has, which means he has a lot of potential,'' Pigford said.

``He's not real tall, but he makes up for that with his strength with the main thing being his mental strength. He definitely works hard in practice. He's very eager to please and to please himself. He definitely has what it takes.''

Hodges, a soon-to-be seventh-grader at Rosenwald Middle School, prefers the longer events, such as the 500 and 1,000 freestyles. Despite his preference, Hodges is a respectable backstroker as well.

His time in the 50 backstroke was his best ever and his first ``A'' time. In the 50 back, Hodges needed to break 34 seconds to move up from the ``BB'' level.

``I always wanted to do swimming, but I wouldn't mind doing other sports,'' Hodges said. ``I swim five days a week and then there are meets on weekends, so I don't want anything interfering with swimming right now.''

Hodges didn't learn to swim well until he was 8 and didn't begin competitive swimming until he was 10 when, after four years of soccer, he needed a new challenge.

Even though he was a good player, his mother said that taking to the water has been a better situation.

``When he wants to do something, he'll work until he reaches what he wants to achieve,'' his mother said. ``He's a very goal-oriented kid. This summer he's reached a lot of the goals he's set for himself.''