No profession could be more appropriate for Jeff Cassidy these days than a surgeon who specializes in spine and sports-related injuries. Cassidy always had a strong backbone when he was a high school swimmer 25 years ago. After all, his idea of a steppingstone toward medical school was six years as a Navy SEAL.

Cassidy was among a dozen or so elite Western New York swimmers from the mid-1980s, which many view as the region’s greatest generation for the sport, but he was hardly the best. Every year during that period, local high schools cranked out Division I swimmers and divers who had competed with the best in the nation.

Many of the best men from that era gathered Saturday for a 25-year reunion at Eric McClaren’s home in Williamsville for a golf outing, a few beers, tall tales and bonds that will last a lifetime.

Yes, you should see them now. Their hair is a little thinner, their bellies a little larger, but their unbreakable spirit has not changed.

They admittedly were a different sort, you know, a few plates short of a set. It takes a certain person to spend all those hours before and after school doing laps without the fanfare that comes with major sports. Over time, though, they developed common threads toward success: worth ethic, discipline, competitiveness, motivation.

Kids, listen up. “It’s the fundamentals to be successful

in life,” former Jamestown star Andy Creager said Saturday. “Set goals, work hard to achieve your goals, achieve them and set new goals. That’s what you get from swimming and that’s how life works.”

On Saturday, as they looked back, it became clear just how far qualities that were born from swimming carried them. What seemed like pain and suffering years ago was really preparation for the real world. Let’s face it, not many challenges are more humbling than the daily routine of a competitive swimmer.

It explains how Cassidy embraced Hell Week, the aptly named moment of truth for SEALs and among the toughest training regimens in the military, some 20 years ago. He remembered lying naked for three hours in 60-degree waters just outside San Diego in the middle of the night.

Other recruits were quitting by the minute because they couldn’t endure the cold. Cassidy, once a member of a 200-meter medley relay team with Mike McCluhan, Dave Schraven and John Hodge that held a national record in the 14-under age group, made it sound like a refreshing day at the beach.

“You have to be a little crazy to stare at a line and keep your mind occupied while you’re punishing yourself [in swimming],” Cassidy said. “There were nights [in SEALs training] where it was really biting and the air was cold. It reminded me of mornings at Audubon. It never really bothered me. I thought it was fun.”

Yeah, dude, sounds like a blast. Sure enough, six months later, he was one of 18 of the 134 recruits who graduated. He spent four years as a SEAL and two more as an instructor, making medical school that followed feel like study hall. He’s now a surgeon in Grand Rapids, Mich. His teammates on that relay team didn’t turn out too bad, either.

Hodge, a standout at Williamsville North, and Schraven, who went to Kenmore East, earned full scholarships to Stanford. The Cardinal won four straight Pac-10 titles and two NCAA titles when they were there. Hodge was on a 400 medley relay team that included U. S. great and Olympic gold medalist Pablo Morales.

McCluhan wound up at Florida, which was coming off consecutive NCAA championships. Hodge had a state record in the 200 freestyle that stood for 23 years. Schraven had one of his records fall last year. They were reunited Saturday with Mike Wood, a star at Frontier who led the way to St. Bonaventure for six others.

All these years later, their names are still scattered across the region for pool and meet records. It’s remarkable given the advancements in training, the progression of athletes and the technology of swimsuits. And to think finishing first and earning scholarships didn’t matter nearly as much the character they built.

Hodge became an investment banker who retired seven years ago at age 35, financially secure for life. He returned to work a few years ago as a partner in the Blackstone Group, the world’s largest private equity firm, and now lives in Northern California. Schraven has his own consulting firm and coaches two teams in Mount Lebanon, Pa.

Creager swam for North Carolina State, attended medical school at North Carolina, had a fellowship at Wake Forest and spent four years on the faculty at Duke, confirming the only thing missing from his initials is another “C.” He’s now a pathologist in Erie, Pa.

Chris Cabell swam at Clarence High and became a cardiologist. McClaren swam for Maryland, transferred to St. Bonaventure after injury problems and is now teaching and coaching in Clarence. Wood lives in Houston and is a health, safety and environmental manager for Baker Hughes, a product and services giant in the oil and gas industry.

Jay Triepel has the toughest, most rewarding job of all. He followed Wood to Bona, became an officer in the Navy and now is a stay-at-home father for four kids, including 9- month-old twins. In the interest of full disclosure, we attended school together starting in kindergarten and graduated from Frontier one year after Wood.

Trust me, they did it right. It was much the same with the women. Amherst’s Erin Hurley was a four-time All- American at Nebraska and is now coaching Grinnell College in Iowa.

Edwina Lerner swam at Florida with Dara Torres, who won Olympic silver in Beijing at age 41. She’s now Dr. Edwina Lerner Kinchington, a cancer researcher at the University of Pittsburgh.

They are names. They are people. They are some among many success stories who started as swimmers. It’s not a coincidence.

And now look at them. “At the end of the day, it’s about work ethic and discipline,” Wood said. “It’s how you prepare yourself in the pool for events, how you prepare in the classroom for tests, how you prepare yourself at work for presentations and meetings. It’s about worth ethic, preparation and discipline. Those three things translate to anything in life.”