Meet the only Kashmere HS swimmer to make this year's UIL swim meet
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Growing up in Trinity Gardens in northeast Houston, Dustin Berry tried peewee football and youth basketball. But it wasn't until he took to the pool that he found his sport.
"I saw swimming, I thought of it as a comfortable sport more than football at the time. So, I was like 'I want to swim', and over the years I got better," said Berry.
He learned to swim at seven years old , started competing at nine and joined the team. As he reached his teen years, he wasn't just good. He was one of the best in the 100 butterfly.
Now, he's a senior at Kashmere High School.
"He's not a real boastful type person, but when you get him in there, you wouldn't realize the fire cracker he really is," said Dustin's coach, Johnnie Means. "He gets in there, and he really competes."
Recently, Berry competed in the UIL State Swim meet.
He was the only swimmer from Kashmere and the only swimmer from HISD to qualify.
He finished 10th in the state.
Berry's not sure if he'll try and swim competitively in college because he plans to be a lawyer.
What this young man has done is open the world of swimming to kids just like him in northeast Houston.
"It makes me feel proud to know my child is a turning point for a lot of kids, said Deborah Berry, his mother.
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