Youth: Swimming with the big girls

That's normal.

She's also one of the fastest freestyle swimmers in Collier County.

That's special.

She's only 12 years old, but already she's a veteran of two state high school swim meets. She can't even sniff a driver's license, but she won two district titles this year.

Salce is one of the best high school swimmers in the area, except she hasn't reached high school. What's helped her so far is the right balance of youth and maturity -- she trains like a veteran, but makes sure to have fun.

She may be young, but she has a ton of experience when it comes to the pool. Salce has been swimming more than half her life, starting at age 5 when she began taking lessons near her family's home in Connecticut. Her family moved to Florida four years ago, and she started training with the Swim Florida club.

Community School swim coach Aaron Weiny says Salce's approach to her workouts goes well beyond her years.

"If anything, it's her work ethic," he says. "If you give her a set workout to do, she just does what you tell her and she works hard all the way to the end. That's where she's focused."

Salce knows how important it is to remain focused on her training.

"I know that, if I stop now, I'm not going to be successful in my swimming career," she says.

Salce really started making waves last season, when she qualified for the Class A state meet as a sixth-grader. She finished 35th overall in the 100-yard freestyle, racing opponents five and six years her senior.

Her breakout season came this year, as she shined at the Collier County Championships. Salce won the 100 freestyle and finished second in the 50 to Lely senior Cari Braun. She carried that momentum into the Class A District 7 Championships, winning double gold in Sarasota in the 50 and 100 freestyles.

At this season's Class A state meet, she shot up the charts in the 100 free, finishing 24th overall.

Salce says she really doesn't think about the age differences between her and her opponents. All she thinks about is swimming fast.

"I just go out and try to race them," she says. "When I get in the blocks, I get a little nervous, but once I'm swimming, I don't really think about it. They can just race me."

She does think about how much fun she has on the Community School swim team. That's the biggest reason why she's swimming she says. It always has been.

She met her best friend in Connecticut on the swim team up there. She still swims for the Swim Florida Blue Team with other swimmers her age. The Seahawks swim team is full of young swimmers. Of the nine state qualifiers, five were in middle school.

She also knows what it's like when her friends aren't there, like in last year's state championships. She sums up that experience in one word.

"Boring," she says. "I was the only girl that qualified, so I just sat around and didn't have anyone to talk to."

Weiny says the way she enjoys her friends on the team is one of the most refreshing things about her. She's focused, but doesn't have the tunnel vision seriousness of her older counterparts.

He says she doesn't need it yet. That will come as she gets older.

"She's still not doing the same workouts the senior swimmers would do," he says. "She still has that road to go in the future."

She'll just make sure she finds time to watch "Spongebob Squarepants."