Being a student athlete often means you know you’re going to face challenging and rewarding times. As their 2019-2020 meets are coming up just around the corner, Washington High School girls swim team members and their coach, Lane Page, start practicing and preparing for their upcoming season.

“Swimming is a team sport as well as an individual sport,” sophomore Abby Loesing said, “You practice and compete as a team, but the races you swim are your own individual event.”

Each girl works their hardest to achieve personal goals but they also take pride in watching their teammates succeed.

“I think the most rewarding thing about swim is dropping time in your own event, or watching a friend drop time after working hard in practices to accomplish just that,” said Loesing.

Not only do the girls want to see their teammates benefit from swim, but also in their personal lives. 

“What I find most rewarding about being on the swim team is the unbreakable bonds I have formed with people,” sophomore Jacqueline Kluba said. 

Because of these bonds, the girls work together and use their skills to better themselves and try to help better their team members.

“We all try to work really hard in practice. Everyone does their best and we continue to push each other,” Loesing said, “We know that we have to opportunity to do well against some teams this year and we want to do our best.”

Due to the fact they practice at the Washington YMCA, these swimmers still have to keep in mind that even if their not competing on school campus like most sports, they still need to exemplify Blue Jay pride.

“I know I am representing my school and that what I do in the water and in and outside of school gives a reflection of our school sports,” Kluba said. 

Representing your school is a critical part of being on a school sports team, but to get to the point where one has to worry about representation they need to take on the team expectations as well. These things will come easy for any current or future girl swimmer if they use the advice the team has to share.

“Just have fun! Work as hard as you can and always do your best but remember to just have a good time,” Loesing said, “You only have four years on the team but you make friendships for life.”