Nelson Silva is from Sao Paulo, Brazil, a city of more than 22 million people. He now swims for Ouachita. This change might be a little much for some people to handle, but for Silva it was a challenge he was ready to face to achieve his goals in life.
Silva was raised by his grandmother because his parents both had to work full time. This upbringing instilled in him a strong work ethic because he saw his parents working hard to provide for their family. This work ethic translated nicely into Silva’s athletic career.
Growing up, Silva quickly found a love for both soccer and swimming.
“My uncle taught me how to swim and since then I was always in the pool or playing soccer,” Silva said.
“There were days when I would stay in the middle of the pool, with my grandmother on the deck screaming at me to get out of the pool so I wouldn’t be late to school. If that didn’t work, she would tell my friends to try to catch me in the middle of the pool.”
Silva got his love of soccer from his father, who was was a professional soccer player.
Silva played soccer year-round and made the team at a professional club in seventh grade. He loved competitive soccer, but his father gave him advice that he would never forget.
“I was a professional goalie,” Silva’s father told him. “I think you are better in swimming than at soccer and here in Brazil the chances are one in one billion for you to become a successful soccer player.”
This advice hurt Silva at first, but he knew his father was only looking out for him. After this conversation, he turned his competitive focus fully to swimming.
Silva knew coming to Ouachita would be a difficult transition, but he looked past the present difficulties to see the rewards he would reap from them.
“What helped me the most to deal with the situation was to think about my personal goals, which were to learn English and get a degree,” Silva said. “I knew it would be hard, but I would do what it takes to accomplish these goals.”
Once getting here, the swim team welcomed him in as one of their own. Junior Hal Eubanks, one of Silva’s teammates, believes the swim team has a strong bond.
“We are all like a family here, whether we come from Texas or Brazil,” Eubanks said.
This camaraderie has made Silva’s transition go smoothly.
“I believe being on the swim team made the transition much easier,” Silva said. “I don’t only have teammates but I have a family here. I can count on them for anything. They have been there for me, especially when I was going through hard times.”
In 2007, Silva was trained by Eddie Reese, an Olympic head coach for over 20 years and a man who is responsible for numerous gold medals and world records. Silva said this was the most exciting moment in his swim career.
“Eddie Reese is one of the most famous and successful coaches in the world,” Silva said. “When I got there to train, I was amazed.”
Silva was impacted greatly by this whole experience and he will never forget the advice coach Reese gave him that week.
“‘You do to what it takes to be the best you can be,’” Silva said recalling Reese’s advice. Silva has lived by these words ever since.
Silva has also become a leader in the water. Junior Kyle Tilley, a fellow swimmer, looks up to him in the pool.
“I think of him as a leader when it comes down to practice,” Tilley said. “He is usually one of the first people in the water in the mornings or in the afternoon practices. He gives some of the swimmers someone to look up to in accordance to skill and training in the water.”
This type of character is what has defined Silva’s swim career and more importantly, he hopes to become a swim coach in the future so he can pass along all of the knowledge he has been given.
“I just love to help kids get faster and have fun,” Silva said.
