Swimming has done for me…
Swimming from day one was the hardest sport I have ever done. Never before in my life had I been able to move 50 yards and be in pain. The very act of swimming a lap was exhausting. My parents began their divorce at the same time swim season started, and so it was a nice release. Instead of running for miles and still not being in a terrible pain I could swim and get it over with faster. Aside from providing me with a physical escape it helped me develop socially. The people on the swim team were all so wonderful and funny. I actually wanted to communicate with people outside of my small friends group for the first time in forever. They taught me how to laugh, how to be generally friendly (though it may not seem like it), and to appreciate what you have.
I was very homophobic before I became friends with Ricky Peterson. He was a senior in high school when I was a freshman and he was a pretty fast swimmer. I looked up to him as a swimmer, and as a person he was
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She was a distance swimmer like me. I was a very energetic freshman and bugged her every day. I would get very excited before swimming started every day and buzz around her. When I was in the water I would go to the bottom and launch out, yelling that I was a whale. I mostly remember Liesl for her signature catchphrases, “RUDE” and “ETHAN STOP! YOU AREN’T A WHALE!”.
Peter Lepannin was also my lane buddy, and I’ve spent the most time with him for sure. He was my true inspiration and driving force for swimming fast. I am positive If he wasn’t so fast I wouldn’t be today. I tried so hard to keep up with him. Everyday by the end I would be in so much pain from swimming with him. He is crazy to see the least. He is a type of weird that is funny from inside the friend group, but when you first meet him he scares you. All of the exploring old mine building and running around the woods naked experiences come from
This pool is my soul, and the slight, gentle waves are the beating of my heart. I stand on the deck looking down at the clear, calm water, and raise my hands above my head. I dive into the water, smooth and straight like an arrow. I enter the water without a splash, and glide underwater, feeling the cool water on my skin, and the scent of chlorine in the air. I feel powerful, immortal, and completely at peace.
As a child I was not in to many sports or involved in school activities. Going through high school I figured out that being involved in a sport or a school club would make my high school experience better. The first and only sport I chose to do was track. Track changed my whole high school experience and life. I learned to never give up, and it kept me out of trouble throughout my four years of high school.
I approach the rugged mountain, shielding my body from the nasty frost nipping at my exposed skin. The sun ever so lightly peeks over the horizon as I strap on my skis, lightly dusted with a thin layer of fresh snow. Although my body shivers unceasingly, I feel comforted by the surges of adrenaline pumping through my body. I skate briskly toward the ski lift to secure my place as the first person in line. On the slippery leather seats of the lift my mind races, contemplating the many combinations of runs I can chain together before I reach the bottom of the hill. I arrive at the peak of the mountain and begin building up speed. Floating on the soft snow, weaving through the trees and soaring over rocks, I feel as if I am flying. The rush of adrenaline excites me. I feed on it. I thrive on it. I am ski; I live for speed; I am an evolving technique and I hold a firm edge.
Neither my parents nor I had that desire for myself; therefore not one sport was more central than the other. Academic success stood as the most valuable compared to athletic success. That environment placed less pressure for me to train with greater intensity and focus when it came to competitive sports. Sports were extra-curricular activities as opposed to a full-time job and the pathway to the subsequent level. I absolutely benefitted from playing multiple sports throughout my youth. I have participated in soccer, basketball, football, track & field, wrestling, and even taekwondo. Competing in all these sports developed me into a better athlete and enhanced my fundamental movement skills that are necessary for all sports. In addition, it gave me multiple perspectives that I might not have had otherwise. This improved my ability to be a teammate and instilled in me a more competitive nature. Although different sports brought different demands, the growth of confidence remained the same. I never suffered from burnout during my youth, nor did I detest my experience. Ultimately, participating in multiple sports gave me time to decide where my passion lied and what I preferred to play. As a result, my participation in high school sports was limited to only football and
“When I was little, we used to have something called Swim Team at our Britannia Clubhouse,” Bilan says. “I loved it. We got to swim, try different moves and techniques and have fun in the
Running. Running has provided me with so many opportunities. I have met so many new people and learned numerous life lessons. My life would be completely different if I had not had these invaluable experiences.
As a competitive swimmer, I train 19 hours a week as a member of the University of Manitoba Bison’s Men’s Swim Team. However, growing up, I was never a great swimmer. I just didn’t have the classic swimmer body type—tall, long limbs with big hands and feet—but I loved the sport. Looking back, I can imagine how my parents felt. Their short, scrawny kid desperately wanted to be in a sport that he wasn’t meant for.
At age four, I started my first sport, soccer. From the very first practice, I was simply hooked to the new responsibility to show up at practice every Tuesday and a game every Saturday for my new Blue Valley Recreation team. I had so much fun with my soon-to-be kindergarten classmates! As I grew, I joined more and more sports like softball and dance classes, and I would do anything to get outside and play some football or tag with my family. From the time I was four until now, my love for sports and exercise has only multiplied and multiplied. Apart from the love of playing, I feel I may have gained something more from playing sports all these years. Though I was not entirely certain as to what or why I benefited from playing sports so long, I knew I had some attributes that many other non-athletes did not.
I knew that joining the team in my junior year of school meant that I would never be the best at it, but I would try my hardest regardless of that. Being part of the team gave me something to work on everyday aside from school work. Each day, whether during practice, or a competition, I was constantly faced with different challenges to overcome, both physical or mental. These challenges helped me to grow as an individual and as a member of the team. One of my biggest accomplishments through swim was becoming a NYSPHSAA Scholar Athlete my senior year. Other experiences, such as work and travel have also shaped me as person. Working, and earning money has taught me a great deal about money management as I save up for college, and has given me a look into the responsibilities of a working individual. Working has taught me the importance of communication and networking inside and outside the work space. As for traveling, taking a trip to Spain and France my senior year truly broadened my horizons. It was an amazing opportunity to grow and learn about the rich culture these countries possess; it also has made me begin to think seriously about opportunities to study abroad during my time at
I have learned to accept failure and to keep moving forward. Falling my face, back, knees and every other possibly body part gets tiring after I do it time and time again, but I have learned to just keep pushing through it. The mind can make or break you in sports. It is hard to find the motivation to continue dancing, tumbling and leaping on a four inch wide piece after you have already fallen 3 times, but all you can do is shake it off and finish it out. I have learned to face fears. From the fear of doing a new skill or pole vaulting for the first time, to getting back on the bars after I broke my arm practicing bars. Overcoming those difficulties has taught not to let fear get in the way of your
Cheever, John John Cheever: “The Swimmer” from The Stories of John Cheever by John Cheever, copyright 1978 by John Cheever. Used by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc. check the requirements for citations. These need work
Have you ever had a moment in time that seems like minutes or hours even though it was only a few seconds? Have you ever seen everything before you play out in slow motion, where you are aware of everything around you, yet not knowing what was going on? I have, and as I look back on it, I feel very blessed and protected. On March 21, 1987, I decided to take a little swim in our swimming pool and almost drowned.
know swimming well but he tried his best. firstly, he was mad at me because of my jokes but
Not that we were scared of him, but we started to fear the future of our swimming careers. I was seconds away from the national qualifying time,
Swimming has been my whole life, since I jumped into the pool for the very first time. I loved every aspect of swimming from the adrenaline running through my body during my races and getting to spend even more time with my friends and my sister, and the stress of big meets coming up in the schedule. Except everything didn't go according to plan after the first day of school when I got home and I saw my parents sitting by my sister on the coach and my sister was crying.