Swim Team Diving into Success

As the Selma High’s swimming season continues, the team is striving to better themselves. The team has placed high in many events but they hope to achieve even more. They recently competed in Kingsburg and they did very well.
Everyday the swim team practices right after school where they focus on various swimming strokes such as freestyle, backstroke, and butterfly. They also work on swimming different distances such as 25 meters, 50 meters and up to 200 meters. On some occasions they also practice diving.
Swim is a very independent sport meaning they all have different events in which they complete at their own pace. The team is eager to improve their times.
“I don’t really focus on getting first place. I personally just focus on myself and try to improve my own time to the best of my ability. I do however want to improve my time on the 50 meter freestyle,” expressed Senior Jessica Barajas.
Swim’s biggest obstacle as a team is not having enough people to do relays and certain events. All the girls have placed in their events but it is not sufficient enough to beat other teams which consist of twenty or more swimmers.
Despite it being an individually driven sport, the swimmers still need guidance and motivation. Coach Romig leads the Selma High swim team and helps them build their confidence. Although the team and coaching staff is fairly new it’s what makes the sport fun for the swimmers. “We have fun! Yes, we work hard, but we have fun doing it,” stated Coach Romig. One example where they practiced this would be when they roll dice to see how many reps they do. “The swimmers are always excited when they roll a 1 instead of a 6,” she continued.
While balancing a sport and school may be difficult, the swim team has managed to stay on top of their grades and perform well in swimming. Maintaining a good academic record is part of their participation in sports so they must do so accordingly.
“Effective time management and not procrastination are the things that have helped me balance both school and swimming” says Senior Natalee Mares.
Swim is determined to end off their season strong and show their progress with new and improved personal records and cherishing the memories made along the way.
“I love getting to know my teammates and forming friendships through swimming,” states Senior Natalee Mares.