Swimming is an extremely challenging sport, and it can take a lot out of you. It can be a struggle waking up at the crack of dawn for early morning practice, spending your weekends at meets and the constant dry skin. But I think we can all agree that when all your hard pays off, nothing can be more rewarding.
1.Hitting your goal time.
Each day you jump into a freezing cold pool to swim back and fourth for hours and hours in hopes it’ll all pay off. Nothing can be more rewarding then touching the wall and looking up at the board to see you went the time you’ve been wanting. Little moments like these can make a swimmer realize this is why we do what we do each and everyday. We put the work in day after day to see the results.
2. The people who surround you.
Nothing makes waking up at 5AM a little better then getting to surround yourself with your best friends. Over the years, the people on your team have become your family. Your family that endures the same pain at practice, gets up at the same times as you and has the everyday struggle of being sore. Your swim family is a major part of your life because who else is going to understand all our swim lingo?
3. The memories.
Each and everyday you are creating more and more memories. You’ll always remember that time coach fell in the pool, or your best friend got her trials cut. You will remember your best swims, and your teammates successes. You will remember traveling with your teammates and have endless pasta parties. The sport of swimming allows us to create so many wonderful memories, even if we wish to forget that awful practice. When we become “swammers”, we will always have the memories that the sport gave us to look back on.
4. Goal setting.
Throughout your career of swimming you have learned to set goals for everything. You are always setting goals in academics and athletics. The goals are what get you in the pool each and every day. The harder you push at practice, the closer you get to your goals.
I do ocean swimming. Nothing like cold, getting up in the dark for swim at 7am but all worth it when you meet up with the group. Lots of laughs and feel soo good after you have done it!