Every morning, the swim team’s alarms go off around 5 a.m. and as their eyes open slowly as they wake up half-cognizant, they put on their swimsuits and outer wear and drive or are driven by teammate to practice every school day Monday thru Friday which ends at 6:30 a.m at the Roswell Adult Aquatic Center. The season lasts from mid-October to mid-February.
The swim and dive team’s practice routine consists of placing emphasis on beating start times. A third of the team has a two-hour afternoon practice which can be substituted for early morning practice if the teammate swims on club teams such as: Swim Atlanta or Chattahoochee Gold.
Although morning practices are preferred by some swimmers, many find afternoon practices more suitable. Junior swimmer Juliana Murphy said, “I think practicing in the mornings is rough because of getting up but it’s helpful to have my afternoons free and it makes me feel more productive throughout the day.”
Thinking about the beginning of the season, Murphy said, “It’s off to a rough start because I’m injured, but we have a lot of new swimmers that are putting in a lot of hard work and I think we’ll have a good season.”
The Swim and Dive team have a busy competition schedule with meets almost every weekend. On Saturday Nov. 4, they attended an “Invite meet,” which is when the team is requested to be a part of the meet. In this meet, Roswell placed eighth overall.
Although each pre-meet routine can differ from others, according to senior captain Parker Jones, it usually follows the same structure. Jones said, “When we arrive at the place for the meet, we get there and have a little pep talk just going over everything then we change into our suits and get ready for warm-ups. The warm-ups usually last 20 minutes and we swim the whole time. After warm-ups, the meet starts, and we swim. While other people swim, we cheer along supporting them as they race.”
Senior captain Tyler Godoy said, “My goal is to make it to the state meet for the 100 breaststroke and 100 butterfly. I would also like to drop more time and swim a personal best in both events.” However, Jones said, “My goal for the swim season is to become a stronger swimmer and get to state.”
Not only are the swimmers on the team to beat their personal bests, cut down times, and improve overall, but they are also there to have fun and enjoy the sport. This team has opportunities to bond during their practices and throughout meets while they cheer each other on and celebrate each other’s accomplishments. Godoy said, “My favorite part about being on the team is the close friendships I have created with everyone. We are all super close to each other and supportive of one another.”
Jones and Godoy plan to lead the team down a path to success. Jones said, “I am going to lead the swim team by example and help people become more confident with their strokes, which will make them get better.”
