Sean Lynch: Getting his feet wet -- Merced College's Carter working way back into form

Justin Carter isn't the swimmer he once was.

And he freely admits that he may never be that swimmer again.

His right shoulder still hasn't recovered from a pair of torn ligaments he suffered in the summer of 2008.

Carter's story is well known by now, but the pain in his shoulder still offers a constant reminder of the opportunity lost.

The then junior at Golden Valley was at the top of his game and close to the top of the world as he prepared to take on the USA's best in the 100- and 200-meter backstroke at the Olympic Time Trials.

While training for the event, a teammate mistakenly jumped into the water right on top of Carter, dislocating his shoulder.

He had surgery to repair the damage four days later, the exact day the time trials got underway.

"The doctor said the shoulder looked great," Carter said. "He's a really outstanding doctor who just repaired Tom Brady's knee, so I was lucky to have him.

"I probably rushed it a bit coming back, but it was my senior year and I wanted to be a part of it."

Carter's shoulder wasn't ready, but even with the injury he fought through and was competitive.

He captured the Central California Conference title in the 50- and 100-yard backstrokes, but fell short in his bid to become a three-time section title winner.

After his senior year, the phenom considered walking away from swimming and just going off to college.

"It was pretty close to being a reality," said the Merced College freshman. "If I'd left the area to go to school, I probably wouldn't have swam this year.

"I waffled on the decision a lot. I took the summer off, but ultimately decided to come swim at Merced College."

Carter is stuck in one of life's cruel irony's.

In order for his shoulder to fully mend and for him to try and regain his top swim form, he needs to stop swimming and focus on nothing but rehab.

There's about as much chance of that happening as Lance Armstrong never touching a bike again.

For better or worse, swimming is a part of who Carter is and for now, he's content to just be one of the guys.

"It's strangely satisfying just being a member of the team," Carter said. "In high school I was always the star.

"At MC, we have all kinds of stars and I'm just trying to make the team better

"My shoulder is what it is. It's weak. Sometimes I struggle to keep pace in practice. Sometimes it hurts so much I can't even finish.

"I take each day as it comes and let my body tell me what I can do."

That's not to say Carter hasn't had his share of success.

He may not glide through the water as effortlessly as he once seemed to, but ability and sheer will have kept him competitive.

Carter won his race at the Central Valley Sprint Meet, he had a second-place finish at the Las Positas College Swimming Invitational, and had a sixth-place showing at last weekend's prestigious Cuesta Invitational.

He also has a couple of Blue Devil relay teams on the cusp of school records and a possible state meet appearance.

"He's swimming well," MC men's swim coach Scott McCall said. "At the end of practice today he was leading everyone in the sets, so he's starting to get back into shape.

"He definitely has his good days with the shoulder and his bad, but he has so much swim experience he knows how to compensate.

"One of Justin's strengths is his underwater dolphin kick off of the walls. Its really helped overcome some other things that are slowing him down."

Carter may not be the swimmer he once was, but talking to him, you get the impression he one day will be.

Or at the very least, he'll get as close to it as he possibly can.

"Taking the summer off really helped me," Carter said. "Just being a part of this team has helped me a lot.

"The guys understand what I'm going through and they pick me up and motivate me everyday.

"I'm really enjoying swimming again."

And isn't that what matters most.

Sean Lynch is a Sun-Star sports writer. He can be reached at 385-2476 or via e-mail at slynch@mercedsun-star.com.