From Scouts to Olympians she helps kids be safe in the water

Submitted by Caryn Beougher

Maegen Fleck, Noblesville, leads a busy life. As an avid outdoorsman, she became the Scoutmaster to Troop 3030, which she helped found so that her Cub Scout Den of girls had a place to continue their quest to Eagle.

Fleck

As a lifelong swimmer, she is also the Junior Royal 3 Head Coach at Southeastern Swim Club, where two of her Scouts, including her daughter, are competitive swimmers.

Her love of swimming is not limited to her swimmers; she also ensures that all her scouts are water-safe. When we say all her scouts, we mean ALL SCOUTS. Every summer, Maegen conducts the BSA Swim Test, which is open to all Scouts to ensure they can swim. Occasionally, a timid Scout might need to be more proficient, and Maegen offers these Scouts, free of charge, to learn how to swim at the local public pool. She has taught more than 20 Scouts to swim over the past two years. She has also taught the Swimming and Lifesaving Merit Badges to over 30 Scouts over the last two summers.

Unfortunately, this summer, she did not get to teach as many Scouts as she would have liked because she was a Meet Operations Co-Chair for the 2024 Olympic Team Trials for swimming. Never has a football stadium been converted into a swimming venue. Maegen had been working on this event for the past two years to make sure swimmers from around the United States had the opportunity to achieve their Olympic dreams. This event alone has forever changed the face of swimming. She did all this while juggling family, work, coaching, and Scouting.

Photo provided

Maegen is no stranger to competitive swimming. At 13, as a National Team member for Carmel Swim Club, Maegen qualified for Nationals and U.S. Opens, was Carmel High School’s 2000 Senior Captain, 12x IHSAA medalist, 2x IHSAA State Champion, and an Academic All-American. At 18, she would have competed in the 2000 Olympic Trials but missed her cut by .01. She went on to compete in the Big 12 at the University of Kansas while earning her Architectural degree. She continues to swim and, during Olympic Trails, competed at USMS Masters Nationals, placing in the top 25 in all her events.

Having a Scoutmaster with Maegen’s swimming experience, it is unsurprising that Scouts in Troops 3030 and 303 learn to swim and learn water safety. The troop has no issues in the water, and Maegen makes sure that safety is the number one priority when in the water.

Those interested in checking out 3030 or 303 can go to fishersbsascouts.com/request-info.