Kolbe Bayless is one of Brophy’s best swimmers, but his path to becoming a state champion hasn’t been easy. 

Like most freshmen entering Brophy, which is known for its football program, the first thing on Bayless’ mind was football. It wasn’t until his dad told him that he would not allow him to play football that he began to explore the swim team.

“The summer going into freshman year, coach has this little program that teaches kids how to swim,” Bayless said. “After that I went up to Coach Daren [Brubaker] and I was like, I really want to try out for the team, and he was like, ‘You’re not going to make it if you try out.’”  

Bayless was told he would not make the team because he had never swam competitively, but his competitive nature would not let him give up that easily. He would skate to the pool by his house and practice the workouts he asked Brubaker to send him every day.

It was this drive that convinced Brubaker that Bayless was serious about not only wanting to join the team, but also striving to get better.

“I just saw potential. I just saw the fast twitch, all his drive, his perseverance coming and staying longer too,” Brubaker said.

After his freshman year, Bayless knew that he wanted to be serious about this sport. He once again turned to Brubaker and asked him what the next step was; it was Phoenix Swim Club. Brubaker and many of his friends told him that if he wanted to take it to the next level, he would have to swim club year-round.

That is exactly what he did. 

The summer of his sophomore year, however, Bayless was surprised to find that instead of getting better, he was actually getting worse. He had been sick for a while and  knew something was wrong. He alerted his parents.

Bayless was taken to the doctor, was diagnosed with diabetes and prescribed insulin. He went back to practice the day after he got out of the hospital and felt a difference almost instantly.

“Immediately it was like flipping a switch. I just started dropping time like crazy,” Bayless said.

Bayless was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, which is a chronic condition in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin. Although the insulin helped him, there were many new complications that he had to keep track of if he wanted to continue swimming. 

Shortly after being diagnosed, Bayless experienced his honeymoon period, a phase in which the person with diabetes may only need small amounts of insulin because their pancreas may still be making some insulin to help regulate their blood sugar.

Once his honeymoon period wore off, he had trouble swimming for extended amounts of time. 

“That summer of my sophomore year I was starting to realize sometimes I’d have to get out of the pool if my blood sugar dropped too low or went too high. If it was too high, I’d feel like I wanted to throw up and if it’s too low it can be dangerous,” Bayless said.

Bayless was not sure if he wanted to continue swimming due to all the complications, but he was not alone in this journey. Bayless said that Brubaker and his teammates convinced him to continue through this tough time. 

One of them, senior Graham Earnest, has seen what it’s been like for Bayless to push through and continue to swim. 

“It’s pretty obvious that it’s been difficult for him, especially being such an amazing athlete as he is,” Earnest said. “Just maintaining that and then the difficulty of having to get up out of practice, check up on yourself, make sure all of your systems are OK. I think that’s also helped him grow and made him more determined to keep doing what he’s doing and progress as an athlete.”

Meanwhile, Brubaker spent time researching diabetes and learned how to use Kolbe’s glucagon kit in order to be able to connect with him. 

“I don’t treat these guys like times, I treat them like human beings,” Brubaker said. 

During his junior year, Bayless finally found that balance between diabetes and swim. He placed second and third in the 200 and 100 freestyles, and he was also on both of Brophy’s winning relay teams en route to their 31st consecutive state championship.

Brubaker is surprised that he has not picked up any Division I offers. 

“I firmly believe that he could walk on to the University of Arizona and be a superstar. He would be a dream if I was a college coach,” said Brubaker.

Although it has been tough at times, Bayless is ultimately glad he figured out a way to continue to swim and be a part of this family that he loves so much.

“Going into this now, senior year, I’ve sort of figured it out a lot more, diabetes, and I’ve found my love for swimming again,” Bayless said.