With many aspects of school returning to the way that they were before the Coronavirus shutdown, Frederick’s swim team is larger, stronger, and more successful than ever before. Although there have been some tough challenges introduced, the swim team was still incredibly successful this season.
One of the biggest challenges that the students on the swim team faced throughout this season was learning and using the best swimming techniques to ensure that they are successful members of the team. Using the proper techniques is incredibly important not only to ensure success but also to avoid getting injured.
“For me, it has been learning better techniques while swimming. Most people can swim, but the challenging part of [the] swim team is learning how to swim competitively,” shares Kate Greiner, a freshman at Frederick High. “I was proud about how I have improved flip-turns (something that was really hard for me) but I am still struggling with diving correctly and hope to work more on that next season!”
“The toughest, most challenging thing about swimming for me has been technique. If you don’t have the right technique you can injure yourself,” shares Sarah Allred, a senior at Frederick High.
Another challenge that the team experienced is one that is experienced by athletes in every sport at Frederick High, which is maintaining the endurance to keep going even when things get tough/exhausting.
“The most challenging thing is putting in the work. It’s hard and exhausting some days, like with any sport. It’s mostly endurance, keeping on going, that’s the hardest,” said Malia Jeffers, a freshman at Frederick High.
A successful swim team isn’t something that just happens overnight. The team “[has] been practicing 5 days [per week] since around November. We also practiced a bit over Thanksgiving and winter breaks,” Kate says. With all of the practice that is held throughout the season, as well as the many competitions and meets, members of the team have had to make some sacrifices with their personal lives and schedules to be able to attend each event, while others have had to make fewer sacrifices, but have had to learn how to manage workloads to participate on the team, as well as get school work done on time.
Sarah says that she has had to sacrifice “a good bit of time [and work,] as well [as] spending time with friends outside of school. [Each one has] become more of a rarity with swim season going on.”
Kate also shared that “[since] practices are only an hour and a half long, I tend to have time for school work. But of course, most of the days where I have a lot of homework are the meet days that go to 7 pm. I would not say I have had to sacrifice anything, more just learn to balance my work better.”
With all of the challenges that the team has faced, the team was still incredibly successful this year, with multiple state competitions and qualifications. This created the highlight of the season for a vast majority of the team members.
“At our latest meet, the whole team was buzzing with excitement when our 400m free relay team qualified for the state meet. Everyone stood by their lane cheering, and it was such a cool moment to be a part of a team that was cheering the loudest!” Kate shares. “The team got first, and we all ran out to greet and congratulate them. That definitely has been the highlight for the season.”
Sarah also had a similar highlight, which was “100% making state in an individual event and with my relay team. I’ve been trying for so long to make a state cut and I’ve always been so close to making one but never got there. And now I made it!”
In a written interview, Malia writes that “the highlight of the season has probably been Frederick Swim’s first win in at least a couple years. I know last year we didn’t get any. It’s exciting to see how far our team’s gotten and where it could go!”
Just like in other sports/extracurricular activities, not only at Frederick High but around the world, from parents to the other swimmers to ensuring that time spent practicing pays off, each swimmer finds motivation to do well in different ways.
“Honestly, my parents [motivate me to do well]. They definitely push me to be better. Also, that feeling of knowing I gave it my all. I want to help my team do good by doing good, and I also just wanna do good for myself and for my own progress,” Malia says.
“For each meet, I just think about how hard I have worked in practice and how I wanted to be able to show that hard work in a competitive environment. For the latest meet, I was feeling a little unmotivated, but then I got in the water and was able to shave three seconds off my personal backstroke record, and that felt really good and that growth helped motivate me in my next events!” Kate shares.
Sarah tells us that “the other girl’s times who I’m swimming against usually motivate me pretty well. Depending on the heat I’m in, I’ll focus on a girl who is faster than me and try to keep pace with her throughout the race.”
We at The Scout are very proud of how our swim team did this season, especially with all of the challenges and obstacles that they were faced with. We wish them the best of luck in future seasons, and look forward to seeing what they accomplish next.
