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Swimming against the tide

Swimming against the tide
By Sara-Jessica Dilks
Photos by: Caitlin Fletcher and Rosie Hutchison

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In the locker rooms of Longview Athletics Center, thirty swimmers and five divers change into their tie-dye, camouflage, and striped one-pieces, discarding their backpacks and tennis shoes for towels and bare feet. STA’s iconic netbook cases are stored away, and replaced by Speedo swim bags packed with towels, spare goggles, and post-practice snacks.
Heads, topped with zebra-printed and rainbow-colored swim caps, rapidly bob under and over the turquoise pool water. Eyes covered by metallic-lensed goggles make it almost impossible to identify any one of the submerged swimmers. Instead, the aerodynamic swim gear makes the girls resemble “aliens”, as described by junior manager Sarah Vickery.
Later, during a pep talk, Coach Andy Wilcox urges the girls to arrive at practice on time and work to their fullest potential. He then passes out “goal sheets”, designed to motivate the girls, with encouragements such as “[Goals] are essential to really keep us alive.”

3:20 – All Aboard the Bus
A van arrives at St. Teresa’s at about 3:15, and takes swimmers to the indoor swim facility, Longview Athletics Center in Lee’s Summit, Mo.
Inside the silver van, the girls eat fruit snacks, blast music and talk loudly, contributing to what sophomore Katie Hornbeck calls a “chaotic” atmosphere. Junior Grace Scovell believes that the short amount of bonding time allows for a closer team.
“I think our team is closer [than other sports] because [some of us] take a bus out to practice, so that’s fifteen minutes each day when we spend time together.” Scovell said.
However, others carpool to practice in order to avoid the crowded bus, including freshman Hannah Bredar, who is driven by senior Marianna Messerli.“[Messerli] said I could go with them because there weren’t enough seats on the bus,”  Bredar said. “Her car isn’t as packed as the van is.”
In the Messerli’s car,  the girls have sing-offs and dance, or what Messerli describes as “just being weird”.

“My carpool is definitely the party carpool,” Messerli said. “I think it freaks the freshman out but we definitely have fun! I think just being weird lets everyone kinda relax.”

3:45 to 3:50 – Changing into Swim Gear
Upon arrival, the swimmers head straight to the locker rooms to change into their one-piece suits and then bring their thirty-five backpacks and netbooks to the pool deck. After getting dressed, many of the girls “stall” in the locker room for about ten minutes.
“We do everything we can to avoid getting in the water,” Fisher said. “Wilcox wants us in the water by 3:45, but we usually don’t get in by then. [Practice] is hard and sometimes it’s not fun to swim.”


3:55 – 4:10 – Warming up
According to Coach Wilcox, warming up before practice helps to prevent injuries and can also improve performance.
A typical warm-up consists of some short distance sets, (50 or 100 yards) and a longer 300 individual medley.
“The whole point is for the warm up to be a variety, and not to [push ourselves], but instead do a slower pace than what we’d do at a meet.” Radtke said.

4:10 – 5:45 – Practice Makes Perfect The actual swim practice, which lasts for about an hour and a half, involves virtually nonstop kicking and drill sets. In total, the girls swim approximately 5,000 to 6,000 yards at a typical practice. The swimmers are placed into appropriate lanes according to their speed, and alternate the four basic strokes: breaststroke, backstroke, butterfly, and freestyle. According to Radtke, Coach Wilcox helps to motivate them throughout practice.
“[Coach] Wilcox is all about team, he always tells us to ‘swim for your teammates’.”
Messerli believes that swim team is more challenging than other sports in some ways, partly because of the continuous and intense exercise routine.
“I think that swim team is definitely underestimated,” Messerli said.  “People don’t understand how strenuous the workouts are. [Our only breaks] are between sets, when we get a minute-long rest.”
During the first part of practice, some swimmers must do “dry land” conditioning (or sets of stretches and planks on the pool deck), as other teams temporarily occupy the lanes.
“We don’t have enough pool space because there are two other teams practicing [at the same time as us],” senior Lucy Edmonds said. “You need to be doing these types of exercises so you don’t end up hurting yourself.”

5:45  – Meeting with Wilcox
After evacuating the pool, the soaking wet and “exhausted” swimmers gather around the cold metal bleachers. The girls listen to a 15-minute lecture led by Coach Wilcox, who offers encouragement and discusses upcoming events.
“You’re supposed to be tired, you’re supposed to be grumpy, and you’re supposed to be sore,” Wilcox advised. “If you really wanna [achieve your goals], I want you to take them here (motions to his heart), here (motions to his mind), and here (motions to the sparkling blue pool).”

6:00 – Stars On 3!
After the fifteen-minute lecture and before being dismissed, all teammates must participate in a team cheer directed by Coach Wilcox.
“At the end, we gather around and put our hands into the middle, and he picks someone to lead the ‘Stars on 3’ [cheer],” Hughes-Zahner said.
Senior Hannah Reinhart believes that in the end, the close bond of the team outweighs the intensity of practice.
“We all have days when we don’t have the most positive mentality, but we all overcome it due to how we pick each other up,” Reinhart said. “Our teammates are really what helps us to get through [practice].”

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  • S

    ShaefferDec 9, 2011 at 2:33 pm

    I love this story and the pictures! Swim team doesn’t get enough publicity in the Dart and I love how personal you got with the story. Good job ladies! DNO rocks!

    Reply
  • K

    katieDec 7, 2011 at 10:26 pm

    This is a really well reported and interesting article! I like how you got many members of swim team to share their experiences and the pictures!

    Reply
  • L

    lucyDec 6, 2011 at 9:49 pm

    okay maybe it’s just because I’m on swim team, but this story is awesome!! great job SJ!

    Reply