Entering the Splash Zone

Selma High’s Swim team is feeling ready for the new season to come with their first meet already being on February 21st. They recently traveled to Porterville to go against Sanger West and Monache High. Their excitement comes collectively as a team thanks to the many new members.
In the midst of fast arms and legs come the intense work the swimmers have to endure. Practice begins right after school at 3:30 p.m. for 30 minutes, the swimmers go on the track where they run and do stadiums. They run up and down the stadium bleachers numerous times in order to build stamina. For the next two hours they swim. They do this every weekday.
Swim meet times however, can vary. Mostly starting at 4:00 p.m. and ending from 6:00 to 6:30 p.m., depending on the number of players on the opposing team. Swim meets are an opportunity for swimmers to compete in different strokes. These strokes involve freestyle, breaststroke, butterfly, backstroke and long distances. In these long distances, swimmers attempt to drop their time.
A swimmer who has been through the highs and lows of the sport is junior Natalee Mares, who has been swimming since a young age thanks to her mother.
“My mom put me in a summer program when I was four, and I just started loving the sport from then,” Mares expressed.
Being a veteran of the sport, she meets new people every year.
Mares hopes to build relationships with these new swimmers to further push everyone’s team chemistry. Overall, Mares looks forward to improving her swim time and form confidence within herself.
Like every sport, swimming has its hardships and difficulties. A big part of having to show your best performance comes from the confidence and mindset you jump into the pool with. One of the many who struggles with this issue is sophomore Paulina Vasquez. Like Mares, she also wishes to build on her performance.
“I hope to improve on better times, stamina, and also get better at diving…I also [want] to improve by not giving myself a hard time when I don’t give it my all,” said Vasquez.
Overall, this year’s swim team hopes to come victorious in all their meets and improve their time while also shooting for a chance at valley.