Carol and Geoff Hudson said they never discouraged their three sons from playing whichever sport they wanted when they were younger. But, for whatever reason, all three wound up in the pool.

The oldest Hudson boy, Keith, started his swimming career in 1987, the same year his youngest brother, Matt, was born. When Keith's siblings, Matt and Nick, saw what he was doing in the pool, they wanted to be just like their big brother.

"It definitely was a family affair," said Matt, 21, one of the coaches at West Side Swim Club. "Nick started swimming because our older brother was. The summer Nick started swimming, I hated sitting on the sideline so I jumped in the pool. That happens with a lot of families, it seems."

The Hudsons weren't the only tradition-rich family at this week's All-City Swim Meet at West Side.

For Peggy Mullee, Saturday's final day of the three-day meet was her family's last. After having six children take part in the event over the years, her youngest son, 18-year-old Justin, ended the family's run by taking second in the 100-meter backstroke while swimming for Ridgewood.

"It's just been a wonderful social event. It's a great gathering for the kids," Peggy Mullee said. "I can't imagine what their summers would have been like without swimming. It's hard to believe it's coming to an end."

For the Hudson brothers, their time at the All-City meet didn't end when they stopped swimming in it. Instead, they again followed their brother Keith and began coaching.

This summer marks Nick's seventh year as a coach, while it's the fourth for Matt.

"It's a great experience and you want to be involved with something this important to so many people," said Nick, 23. "To give it up is a tough thing to do."

"I think they were passionate for swimming," Carol Hudson said of her sons. "They like to encourage other young boys and girls to swim because they had so much fun."

Much to the delight of their parents, they haven't given it up just yet.

"So many people spent their summers in different ways. For us, they were always here," said their father, Geoff. "We didn't do baseball or anything else. It's not that we discouraged it necessarily, but we could keep them in the same place and attend an event. You try and do things that keep you together as a family."

Meanwhile, the All-City meet team title will remain in the same place.

Ridgewood won the championship for the 14th straight year, finishing with 1,316.5 points -- 38.5 ahead of runner-up Middleton.