Natural talent and physical ability can help immensely when it comes to success in athletic competition.

If a student-athlete combines those attributes with a genuine love and appreciation for their respective sport, it can help take their performance to a completely new level.

That is the case for current Jamestown High School standout senior Kyle Dean, who recently signed a national letter of intent to continue his academic and swimming career at Niagara University.

“Physically, he’s just always had raw talent and athleticism,” Jamestown head swimming coach Glen Shoup said. “That got him so far until maybe freshman (year) or 10th grade. Then, we had to really work on him buying into the mentality of being able to be great. … To get him to understand how much potential he had. And once he figured that out (he flourished).”

Shoup added: “There was a definitive turning point maybe a year and a half ago where he was swimming on the STAR (club) team up in Buffalo with a couple of those guys up there and they broke a pretty major relay record. And not only could you see the excitement on his face, but talking to him afterwards and saying, ‘look remember how this feels and if you want that more, this is what we’ve got to do.’ And I think that conversation helped to set his mindset for the last year and a half or so where he has really put forth a (tremendous) amount of effort (and) interest. And it has started to show. For sure.”

Last season for the Red Raiders, Dean competed in three separate events at the state meet and put together some of his personal-best times. He was 19th overall and 15th among public schools in the 50-yard freestyle with an impressive time of 21.96 seconds. In the 100-yard freestyle, he was 27th overall and 24th among public schools with a clocking of 48.63. In addition, he was a member of the Jamestown 200-yard freestyle relay team along with Joseph Roehmholdt, Brennan Roehmholdt and Jacob Anderson. That quartet finished 28th overall and 22nd among public schools with a time of 1:31.59.

During the 2020 Section VI Class A meet, Dean was the winner of the 100-yard freestyle (48.63) and was second in the 50-yard freestyle (21.93).

Those times were just a few of the accomplishments for the well-rounded Dean, who is looking forward to hopefully kicking off his senior year at Jamestown in the pool soon. As of now, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the first boys swim practice is tentatively scheduled for Jan. 18.

“I’ve really enjoyed the challenges that (swimming) has given me,” Dean stressed. “It really teaches me to push through and it’s taught me a lot of lessons. The challenges are unlike anything I have ever experienced before. … Usually, I am used to swimming six days a week, two hours a day. But with COVID and everything, that is not happening. I have been practicing at the (Chautauqua) Institution the past couple weeks for (around) 40 minutes a day. … I’m really excited for (the high school season).”

When it comes to what drew him to Niagara University, Dean was quick to point out the camaraderie between the coaches and team members. The Purple Eagles are coached by Eric Bugby and are a member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

“Honestly, it was the coach and the team,” Dean explained. “The coach was really excited about me and he really wanted me to be on the team. From the team that was already there, it just seemed like they got along really well, and they just mesh really well.”

Dean has come into his own as a student-athlete during his time as a Red Raider and will work to continue to improve and develop at the collegiate level.

“I think he’s got amazing potential,” Shoup emphasized. “If the coaching can get behind him, if his teammates can get behind him, if his parents continue to support him, I think he will do really, really well in that program.”