High School Swim Team

When I was five years old, I joined the Carroll Aquatic Swim Team. I stuck with it because I loved being underwater, feeling the refreshing water all over and the sensation of touching the wall, finishing first hearing the people holler. When I got older I just didn’t have much care for it. So, I decided that I wanted to give up. Then, my mom told me that I should finish the season than I could determine, nevertheless, I did as I was told. At my last meet, my mom signed me up to swim the IM which is when you swim all four strokes. I was convinced that I couldn’t do it because I had never done it before. I told my mom that I couldn’t and I would fail, but my friend convinced me that I should do it. She told me that I would only disappoint people if I gave up; consequently, I swam and received first place. In conclusion, I ended up feeling the same exciting feeling as when I was five.

Basketball has been more than just a game in my life, it has always been a big part of my life, but it has been a part differently than what it is to others. I love everything about basketball. I have done everything from keeping the official book for a men's and women's collegiate team to washing a high school team's practice clothes and even making sure everyone has their uniforms and shoes before leaving for an away game. You don't have to be on the court, you don't have to be the one taking the winning shot or calling the play to be part of the team. I want you to think about this instead of feeling sorry for yourself because you didn't make the cut. I hope by the time you finish reading this you will realize

I worked out everyday and practiced every chance I got. When the first day of tryouts came around again, I woke up that morning like every other day, but I knew today was different. I knew that today was the day I was going to redeem myself. When I got to the field most of the guys looked familiar, a few of them even joked around with me and asked "you're back for more?" Unlike the previuos year, I was ready for this tryout. I proved to everyone that doubted me and said I couldn't and I earned my spot on that team. The moment I saw my name on the team's roster was one of my proudest

Being on my school’s diving team has had its ups and downs but one the biggest setbacks I went through while on the team was my freshman year when I got a concussion. I was doing a simple reverse dive I under rotated enough that when I hit the water, it pushed my head into my knee. I am unsure whether or not I blacked out but all I remembered was climbing out of the pool dizzy and confused. I went to a doctor and found out I had a concussion. Having a concussion was a big setback in itself, but what made it the worst was that the conference meet was coming up in about a week. I had to rest for the remainder of the week and was cleared to practice again the next Monday. Because of the whole situation I felt like quitting all together. I only had three days of practice before the conference meet and had nothing prepared. I did not think it would be possible for me to practice all eleven of my dives that I needed to do at the meet in time. Then I remembered my goal for the season: to earn my varsity letter. I had not achieved my goal yet and the conference meet was my last chance to do so. I was not about to

For starters, I was embarrassed by the mental image of myself flailing around in the water and for what I perceived as making a mockery of the team I represented. Not only this, but I became livid with myself, for the hardest and fastest I was able to make my body move still was not enough to comply with my personal expectations. The vow I created on the car ride home still stands in effect to this date; to strive to my greatest potential, making the goal universal for every characteristic of my life.

I woke up nauseous, too sick to eat. The whole drive there I was praying it would be cancelled. The fear consumed me; I couldn’t move. I just wanted to be home in my warm, comfy bed, instead I was diving into an ice cold pool. After warm-up my coach gave me a pep talk, but I was too nervous to listen. Sometimes I got so nervous I’d throw up, right before my event. To this day I still don’t understand why I got so anxious at swim meets. For the past several years, I have had a love hate relationship with swimming. I always struggled with swimming, and many times I wanted to quit. The time commitment and the physical requirements have always been a little too much for my mind to handle and it all comes to a crescendo when it is time to compete. I often wondered why I continued to put

Our coach at the time, Coach Lallemand, would have cuts at the beginning and end of the year every year. So, at the end of my sophomore year we were at tryouts going through our drills and what have you. Then at the end he called us one by one into his office. I was expecting to make the team I had no doubt in my mind I was going to make the team. When he called my name I wasn’t nervous or anxious, I knew I was

I have been part of the varsity swim team for four years now, which I am now a captain of it, reached cadet chief master sergeant in Civil Air Patrol, where I soloed a plane, and other; however, these two accomplishments are the foundations of my goals.

I made sure to act very confident at tryouts so it would not be a repeat of the year before. The high school tryouts felt completely different. I was more confident, louder, and overall a better cheerleader. All the hard work I put in really paid off. The day after tryouts, I remember I was in the parking lot of the eye doctor’s office when the teams had been posted. I was so nervous I would be let down again, so I made my mom check first. Typically freshman year girls cheer for the freshman team, but my mom did not see my name there. Panicking, I took her phone and double checked scrolling to see the other teams. Sure enough, my name was not on the freshman team. My name was under junior varsity! I surpassed my goal I made a team that only a few girls my age

I was confident. I was a better basketball player and everyone knew it. Each day after tryouts I told my dad "I've got it this time." Needless to say, once again my name wasn't on the list. I was so dejected that I couldn't even look my dad in the eye when he picked me up. That night, I went straight to bed and skipped dinner. I later found out both my mom and dad silently cried because they knew how hurt I was. My friends kept telling me I should have made the team, but that didn't change the fact that they were playing and I just had to sit in the stands and watch night after night. I went to every single game that season, and supported my friends; all the while feeling empty because I couldn't be out there with

When I first joined the North Attleboro Swim Team my freshman year of high school, I did not know what to expect. Prior to joining, I had never swam on a team before so it was a whole new experience to me. As the first week of swim started, I was apprehensive if I wanted to continue since I was not on the same caliber as my other teammates were. The practices were brutal but extremely rewarding, as I strived to prove myself and to my coaches. As my freshman season was under way, a couple of upperclassmen took

During the spring of 2015, I missed all of the time cuts to make Speedo Sectionals, forcing me to compete in a much slower meet at the end of the season. There are few things I have experienced that are more crushing than trying my hardest and falling short of my goal. Despite the heavy disappointment, I used the opportunity to harden my resolve and use my strengths to my greatest advantage. Along with my coach’s help, I used my ability to think strategically and hone my technique through focus on the smallest details from how I would approach a swim mentally to how I would warm up. My coach had many important and useful suggestions and lessons from his past experience that required me to be an active learner that could apply his information.

Having grit is truly important to me when it comes to swimming season. For the past eight years, I have woken up at 6:00 A.M. every summer morning and headed to the public swimming pool for swim team practice. Dreading the moment when it was time to jump in the frigid pool water, I would remove the layers I had over my swimsuit and place my goggles over my eyes. Once I jumped into the pool to begin swimming, I put forward my best effort to complete every workout, even if that meant my arms and legs felt similar to jello, and my face was beet red. One practice, my team and I were instructed to swim a mile straight which is sixty-six laps! With determination, I kept telling myself to stay with it and to not give up, although my body told me the

By this time I had started to go through puberty and became taller which enabled me to swim faster. The morning group was full of dedicated swimmers who were crazy enough to get up every morning to go jump into a pool and practice. Of course I was no different, but during April of that season I had started to lose my motivation. I began to skip practices and gave my parents excuses, which then they told me to take it easy. After two months of periodic practices, I realized that swimming was an activity that I wanted to do and that I loved, and I decided that I would not allow myself to quit, no matter how hard it became. When the new season started, I started to push myself, trying to keep up to the faster swimmers. I became close with my team mates as people who go through pain together get closer. We started to have more fun together from going out, to having funny conversations in the locker rooms. I also began to do travel meets where we would spend a few days together, eating, sleeping, and swimming. I spent more time out of the pool with my friends and even became romantically involved with one. Now, swimming has become one of the most important things to me, it has been the activity that has the most influence on my life. From my work ethic, sleeping habits, to my choice of friends, all of them are tied to

The next part of the training turned out to be the toughest. We were required to dive ten feet to the bottom of the pool and retrieve a ten pound weight. Once the weight was brought to the surface we were supposed to tread water for two minutes while keeping the weight above the water line. This appeared to be simple so I dived in, expecting an easy time. I had no trouble getting the weight to the surface and proceeded to tread water with a feeling of undoubtable success. But once again my anti-floating physical quality began to take effect. At one minute and thirty seconds I began to sink and within the next fifteen seconds my head was submerged and I was fighting for air. The water from the pool began flowing into my mouth with each desperate grasp for air; it felt as if an ocean were draining into my body. I remember hearing from under the water the instructor's muffled voice counting down the last ten seconds of the exercise. When it was all over I slowly made my way back to the pool's edge where I was informed by the two young girls that they had no difficulty