Swimming is an activity people tend to do in the summer. For students who are a part of the swimming and diving team, it’s the opposite for them. Swimming and diving is available for students grades 9-12 during the winter.

A typical swim practice consists of non-stop hard work. To start off practice, the swimmers have dry land stretching, push-ups and other exercises. Next, they swim for about 8 minutes as a warm up. They get to the big stuff after warm ups, which is swimming a “main set” (swimming at the same speed and distance). They finish off with cooling down and getting dressed to leave.

The students in swim are determined and dedicated to the sport.

“Swimming means a lot to me. I’ve been swimming since I was 7 and all the hard work I have been putting into it is starting to pay off. My times are getting a lot better this year. Swimming really gets you physically and mentally tough. It also teaches you to manage your time and better discipline,” junior Zaidian Van Orden said.

“Swimming is important to me because I get to enjoy it with my friends, and it is a good workout for my other sports,” freshman Zach Ott said.

Diving practice is different than swimming practice. Divers begin with warm ups, which is penciling into the pool. They then move on with practicing dives about three times. Their diving coach pushes the divers by making them try new dives, flips or twists. Divers have a lot of fun every practice.

“I love to socialize and try new things, and diving was the perfect way for me to do both. It changed me in ways I didn’t even know were possible and allowed me to experience what being on a team truly felt like. Every single person on the team impacts each other and we have all grown so close. Although it is a difficult sport, and can be extremely stressful at times, I wouldn’t trade it or the team for the world,” junior Emma Smith said.

Students can show their support for the swimming and diving team by showing up their first swim meet on December 10.