In sports, determination and the drive to never fail can be the deciding factor in an event. For swimmer Jeff DeGroate, his determination and will power have gained him elite status as one of the best swimmers in Lansing, Ill.

�I want to be the best,� said DeGroate referring to his collection of ribbons, medals, plaques and trophies.

During his six-year swimming career, he has collected 59 medals, five trophies, 12 plaques and more than 1,000 ribbons.

DeGroate did not win these accolades easily, however. It was his hours of practice, determination and hard work that helped him to gain so many victories in the lanes. His great success can be drawn back from his beginning days as a swimmer when he was only 10 years old.

�When I was young,� DeGroate said, �I would swim just for fun. I soon realized that I had a knack for the sport and started to swim competitively when I was 10-years old.�

His father, Bill DeGroate, helped to coach him and give him support, including some of the best advice he had ever received.

�My dad said to me, �Jeff, if you fall down, just get up and try harder until you succeed,� � DeGroate said. �That has always stuck with me in my races and everything else in life.�

As he continued to swim, he carried his competitive nature into the rest of his life.

�The individual competition drives me," DeGroate said. "If there is someway I can prove that I am better than someone else, I need to win. I was always smaller than everyone, so everyone thought that they could just have their way with me and beat me easily in anything, especially sports. I had to prove them wrong.�

As DeGroate entered the eighth-grade at Heritage Middle School in Lansing, he was running track besides competing for the Lansing Swim Organization.

�Track really help in my swimming,� DeGroate said. �I was a long distance runner, so all of the running I did for HMS Track really helped to build my stamina for swimming. It helped to give me a little more what I needed to win."

After graduating from Heritage, he enrolled at Thornton Fractional South High School in Lansing. DeGroate joined the cross country team to work on his stamina. After competing on a high level in cross country, he joined the TFS Rebel swim team.

The Thornton Fractional South athlete was quickly a standout amongst the other freshman. His freshman year was a very good one for both him and the Rebels. With a strong race provided by DeGroate, the Rebels captured the conference championship. Later on, the Rebels finished second in sectionals. That year, DeGroate also took eighth in state semifinals.

�It was a great accomplishment,� DeGroate said. �I will always remember it.�

The next year was also met with successes for the Rebels and for DeGroate. The Rebels took sixth in sectionals, and DeGroate again went to the state semifinals and finished 12th.

DeGroate still has his sights aimed high. Because he runs nine times a week and practices swimmng two hours a day, he is working on adding to his impressive collection of awards. In addition to his high school activities, DeGroate continues to swim for the Lansing Swim Organization. He has plans to continue his career through college.

�I run and train all of the time,� DeGroate said, �even when I don�t have practice. I still want to be the best, and I am going to do whatever I can to improve myself.

"And if I fall down, I am going to get right back up and try harder until I succeed.�