Brophy Prep sophomore Charlie Palmer wakes up every morning at around 7 a.m.

Depending on the day, Palmer will either be in his room staring at a computer for nearly 6 hours or in a socially distanced classroom setting at school. The hours are long (especially online) and the classes are harder than they were last year.

But the fun finally starts for Palmer at around 2:30. That’s when the sophomore gets to compete in the two sports he excels in — golf and swimming.

This fall for the Broncos, Palmer is playing in two separate varsity sports, both in the fall season.

“I’m still kind of figuring out how to manage everything,” Palmer said.

Primarily, Palmer is a golfer. Around the age of seven, he started to go out to the driving range at Paradise Valley Country Club with his father and grandfather.

The trips were nothing too serious and he only went about once a month. Palmer was mostly there to just take tips on his swing and have fun.

“I never really loved it. It was just a fun thing to do to spend time with them,” Palmer said. 

Palmer’s parents signed him up for a golf camp when he turned nine. At the camp, a counselor there saw Palmer’s potential and encouraged him to sign up for a tournament.

Eventually he did, finishing in second place at his first ever golf competition.

“I just fell in love with that. It was such a fun experience,” Palmer said. “I wanted to keep competing with golf.”

He went on to compete and finish in sixth place at the Junior World Championships in 2016. It was then when Palmer knew he could become an exceptional golfer.

“That was the first moment where I realized I could be pretty great at golf,” Palmer said.

Palmer is a key member on Brophy’s golf team four years later. As just a freshman a year ago, he finished in a tie for 16th place at the AIA Division I Boys State Championship.

“Kids look to him and realize that he’s a great student, he’s a great golfer and they’re beginning to realize he’s jumping into this swimming thing,” Brophy Prep golf head coach Jon Shores said. “They look to him as this kid that leads because of how he plays.

“He’s beginning to learn and recognize the team aspect of golf.”

Although Brophy was just three strokes behind Chandler Hamilton for the state championship last season, Palmer is confident the Broncos can bring home the title in 2020.

Jumping back into the pool

Boys golf isn’t the only state championship Palmer hopes to help capture for Brophy Prep this fall.

The Broncos swim team has won 32 straight state championships. Under head coach Daren Brubaker, now in his second fall at the helm, Brophy has sustained an unparalleled level of success in Arizona.

“It’s not only just being on the team,” Palmer said. “It’s being a contributing factor to those winning teams.”

Despite 2020 being his first season in the pool for Brophy, Palmer has an extensive background in swimming. He had traveled to Hawaii and California for meets before he was even a teenager.

But with golf eventually taking over as his primary sport, swimming eventually fell by the wayside. It was entirely out of the picture once he turned 13.

“I just wanted to entirely focus on golf because it’s such a demanding sport where you can’t just give little effort and practice,” Palmer said. “It’s such a long-term process.”

Thankfully for the Broncos swim team, Palmer’s absence from the sport did not last. 

After watching his brother, Henry, compete in the state championships last fall — combined with Brophy’s long history of success in the sport — Charlie was sold.

He wanted to get back into the pool.

“I was excited that he wanted to try out for the team,” Brubaker said. “He’s a competitor and a student of the sport.”

With his brother already on the team, Charlie would show up to swim events and parties and have Henry, along with Henry’s friends, trying to convince him to join the team.

“We were just nagging on him for the whole year,” Henry said.

When Henry’s not in the pool for Brophy, he swims long distance non-competitively on his own. In these marathon swims, Henry has swam around Manhattan Island in just under eight hours and swam across the Santa Barbara channel in six and a half hours.

“I just love being in the water. I just think water is the most powerful element to be around mentally, physically and emotionally,” Henry said. “It’s just such great stress reliever.”

Henry has a strong leadership role on Brophy’s swim team as a senior captain. His presence alone helped make Charlie feel more comfortable.

“I think the team is a lot more connected than most,” Charlie Palmer said. “I’ve been totally welcomed in.”

Charlie can’t be with his swimming teammates or golf teammates at all times, but that hasn’t hindered him bonding with his teammates at the pool.

“With Henry being involved with the swim team the last four years, they’re all really familiar with Charlie,” Brubaker said. “I think that they understand what he’s going through.”

Handling two sports

Besides playing two varsity sports, Charlie’s academics remain his primary concern. He’s currently enrolled in two AP college-credit level classes and is taking other advanced courses as well.

On the weekend, whenever he can find the time, Charlie will take a two hour nap just to refresh and reset himself for the week ahead.

“Last year I really didn’t have too much to manage,” Palmer said. “This year has a lot more of a homework load.

“The little time I have helps me work efficiently.”

Palmer’s days are a constant mental grind. But physically, playing in two sports has surprisingly been a stress reliever for the sophomore.

“I think swimming is a really good way to stay in shape. It’s not a stress on my body,” Palmer said.

Palmer adds that the diversity of muscles he uses in the pool has provided his body more strength and flexibility. He’s noticed that swimming has helped him drive the ball further on the course.

“To be honest, I think it can help me avoid injuries as well,” he said.

He’s still golfing five to six times a week and even tries to jump in the pool on evenings when he can’t make it to swim practice.

A typical weekday can extend from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. So with that in mind, Shores, the golf coach, allows Palmer – and anyone on his team – an occasional day off to recharge and rest.

“I firmly believe that as busy as kids are these days, they just need a break,” Shores said. “They need down time. Maybe in Charlie’s case jumping into the pool is a day off for him where he can just be free and swim.”

 Palmer is embracing the heavy load in part because he wants to win two state championships in the same season, something few high school athletes typically can do.

“The opportunity to be a part of two state championship winning teams is really special,” Palmer said. “I don’t think that’s ever been done before.”