Top Age Group Ranking Profile

We are proud to spotlight a group of 18 and over swimmers who are making their mark within the TAG (Top Age Group) Rankings across Canada. Recognized through the leadership and support of the Canadian Swim Coaches Association (CSCA), these athletes represent the next wave of Canadian swimming excellence.

As we launch this series, we celebrate the coaches, clubs, and families who support these swimmers — and we look forward to following their journey as they continue to rise within Canada’s performance pathway.

Chronic and courage.

Two vastly different and yet powerful words separated by a verb.

For Jordan Schaepper, those words have been a significant part of his current life.

As an academic honors student while at John McCrae Secondary in Ottawa, Schaepper took a year off after graduation and is now in his first year of studies at the University of Toronto. Being intellectually bright, his career plans are still in the planning stages.

So, a question pops up. How do the adjectives, chronic and courage, affect the day-to-day lifestyle of Schaepper?

Now, here’s the answer. Schaepper has had to deal with a recurring physical condition and persistent problems that have been difficult to solve.

Having to carry-on and manage with pain and discomfort in his back and legs can be arduous, unbearable and even psychologically draining. Though he’s only 19 years old, Schaepper has his moments of increased anxiety – which is attributed to not knowing what’s causing the problems.

Composed and optimistic that things will get back to normal, he knows pain is not acceptable. It’s also creating a roadblock, of sorts, affecting the dream of one day competing internationally for Canada.

Schaepper is an elite swimmer and well-liked by his peers and coaches. When people talk about swimming, he’s in the Top Age Group (TAG) listings. It’s more of a ranking system produced by the Canadian Swim Coaches Association and based on gender, age grouping and event.

He’s also in his second year as a member of the High-Performance Centre (HPC) based at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre.

It’s one of Canada's premier specialized athletic training complexes - with fulltime coaches and an integrated support team of specialists. The HPC is supported by Swim Ontario, the Canadian Sport Institute Ontario, and Swimming Canada.

The problems Schaepper has been experiencing have bothered him for several years. To be exact, it was just after finishing a club swim practise in Ottawa, and before the festive season in 2023, that he started to experience discomfort in his back.

“I thought something wasn’t right, maybe I slept funny or twisted something - it wasn’t normal,” he recalled. “My back hurt. I was also losing the feeling in my legs – especially when I raced. I thought it was my nervous system - and it was something serious.”

As he tried to analyze the situation, Schaepper has looked for an explanation or diagnosis from various sectors in healthcare. Medical staff have gone through his family medical history, performed several physical examinations, had MRIs, X-rays and an assortment of diagnostic tests to try pinpoint the problem.

It turns out, that no one has a definitive answer – and that has him puzzled.

Happiness, people say, is determined by a person’s state of mind. Schaepper doesn’t like being a light switch, having to adjust troubling times with focussing on what he does best – and that includes swimming. That’s where courage and pride enters the picture as he works on coping with the challenges.

“I thoroughly enjoy swimming and when my competitive days come to an end, I hope to continue, somewhere and somehow, as a swim coach,” said Schaepper, who competed with the Nepean Kanata Barracudas Swim Club (NKB) for four years before getting the invitation to the HPC.

Academic studies and a strong commitment to excellence in aquatics are his priorities. He’s not in a time warp. For him, Schaepper is at a period in his life when the present meets the future.

While competitive swimmers have long coveted opportunities to excel and be in that distinguished upper echelon of top-notch athletes, what matters more is the ability to initially meet the challenges with success.

In other words, it’s about improvement - on strokes, turns and speed as well as becoming faster, stronger and smarter. There are no exceptions especially for Schaepper, who is tall at 5-foot-11, slim and possesses an athletic gift as well as the promise of new levels of success and stardom.

While his vision may be different from reality, Schaepper is looking for answers – and for ways to succeed not just in the water but in resolving the problems that he has encountered.

The Canadian Swim Coaches Association (CSCA) scans the country seeking individual and team performances with the intention of assisting swimmers – those who are considered in the developing stages – for the purpose of comparing race times.

Learning to swim may have started late for him - at age nine. That would expand to two practices a day at a recreational club in Arnprior – about five minutes from his home in McNab/Braeside in Renfrew County.

Un-athletic at the start, things changed rapidly for Schaepper – and that includes establishing club records. His specialty strokes focussed on the butterfly, freestyle and individual medley.

“I had a conversation with my parents and coaches this season because I kept experiencing setbacks – I didn’t think I could handle (swimming) anymore,” he said. “Some days are harder than others, but that can be said for so many things. I put so much time and effort into swimming and must deal with these (physical) problems.”

A two-time NKB award winner, Schaepper is proud of being recognized with an Award of Merit in 2024 given for the positive attitude shown by performing with great success.

Less than a year later, he was presented with the President’s Award. It recognizes individuals who exhibit respect for coaches, chaperones and teammates, which is what the club stands for as far as inspiring others to be the best they can be.

Schaepper trains some 20 hours a week, combining in-water programs with weight sessions. He said he believes that physiotherapy staff have some idea about the problems he has been experiencing.

“The loss of feeling in the legs, it’s not fun,” he said. “Not being able to do your best gets frustrating. People see, teammates and other swimmers – and not everyone knows what I’m going through. I just put on a brave face.”

With strong support from his parents and two older brothers, Schaepper says his immense growth in the sport is also attributed to a trio of coaches – Ryan Mallette and Rob Novak at the HPC and former club coach Scott Faithfull.

As for personal best times, Schaepper was clocked in 2:00.00 in the 200-metres butterfly at the Canadian Trials meet in Montreal this past July. It’s five seconds faster than his previous TAG time. As for the 800-metres freestyle, he’s hoping to improve on his quickest time of 8:02.00 recorded at the Ontario Junior Invitational in Toronto last year.

Schaepper is hoping, as a U of T student, that he can make the team that competes at the annual Ontario University Athletics (OUA) championships. Next step, depending on his results, a chance to shine at the Canadian (USports) university finals.

While Schaepper continues to focus on his dream in the water, what’s quite noteworthy is his dedication, as a teammate, to those he associates with at the pool – his peers and coaches.

“I make it a priority to encourage swimmers at every level,” he said. “My coach often pointed to me as an example for the team, noting that I showed up to every practice with the same drive and work ethic even when my competitions were done for the season. Supporting my teammates and helping them succeed genuinely brings me so much fulfillment.”

David Grossman is a veteran multi award-winning Journalist and Broadcaster with some of Canada’s major media, including the Toronto Star and SPORTSNET 590 THE FAN, and a Public Relations professional for 50+ years in Canadian sports and Government relations. In 2026, he was inducted to the Toronto Sports Hall of Honour with a Lifetime Achievement Award.