TOWN OF BURLINGTON - Moments before jumping into Browns Lake Tuesday, Darieus Nelson said, "I swim like Michael Phelps," his friend remembered.

But within seconds, it was clear he couldn't.

"I tried to save Darieus," said Stephan Kingue, 13, of Milwaukee. "But I only weigh 80 pounds. I got really tired and decided to swim back to the boat because I was barely breathing and the current was pushing me further and further from the boat."

Darieus, 14, of Milwaukee, was on a boat with some football teammates and their coach Tuesday when he jumped into the water and drowned, said Stephan, Darieus' seventh-grade classmate and fellow football player.

The two boys and a few others started working out for football this week with Michael Hicks, their coach and gym teacher at Darrell Lynn Hines Academy in Milwaukee. The outings were not affiliated with or organized by the school. All of the boys had parent permission to be with Hicks, Stephan said.

"He was trying to get us busy and get us stronger and faster for the team. It's really fun," Stephan said. "He's a really nice guy."

Hicks gave the boys rides to work out at Squeeze Studio Fitness, a gym in South Milwaukee where, he told deputies, he works as a personal trainer and runs a fitness boot camp for children. On Tuesday, the boys worked out for an hour and then grabbed lunch and headed to Browns Lake for an afternoon of fun and swimming, Stephan said.

"(Hicks) wanted to take us because he promised us in the school year," Stephan said.

As the group was getting the boat ready, it wouldn't start at first, something Stephan now sees as a warning.

But the group stayed on the water and Stephan, his brother Malcom, 12, and their friend, Malik Hart-Carpenter, 12, decided to go swimming. They wore life jackets and were jumping off the boat.

"Darieus decided to take his life jacket off. He said, 'I can swim. I swim like Michael Phelps,'" Stephan recalled. "Our gym teacher said, 'If you don't know how to swim, please keep your life jacket on because I don't want you to drown.'"

But he said Darieus jumped in anyway.

"He was splashing and thrashing around. We thought he was playing," Stephan said. "It took us 10 seconds to realize he was drowning."

Then Hicks jumped in after Darieus with a life jacket. Because Darieus was panicking, Hicks could not get the life jacket on him and started having trouble himself, Stephan said. That's when Stephan jumped in with another life jacket. Hicks took the second life jacket and Stephan tried to pull Darieus up from the water, the boy said.

A passing boat came to help, pulling Hicks out of the water. By that time, Darieus was already far under the water.

"We still had faith that he could be alive," Stephan said. "But after a couple hours we thought, 'Darieus is dead.'"

Stephan said Darieus' family is devastated at the loss of the all-around athlete and class clown.

"He was a great kid," Stephan said. "We did a lot of crying. There's not really much crying we can do left.

"We're praying about it too."