Getting up at 6 a.m. every day, getting in the water and exercising doesn’t sound like fun to most people, but for members of the Bowie Swim and Dive Team this practice is a daily regimen.
The team puts in hard work and time for their upcoming 2014 swim meets against other schools, to stay in shape, and to enjoy a sport that they are passionate about.
Tryouts for the 2014 to 2015 swim team began in late April and the first practice of the season was in September.
“The most challenging part of swim team is probably getting up really early in the morning and trying to push yourself and practice,” junior Zachary Mikkelson said.
The swim team has practices every morning starting at 6:15 a.m. until 7:45 a.m. at the Circle C Pool. After their practice the team members get on a bus to go to school at 8a.m.
“We usually have a lot of sets to do in the water for an hour and a half, every day, every week. Recently we’ve been doing weight training twice a week in the gym at school,” freshman Douglas Smith said.
To prepare and train themselves for upcoming meets, the team members exercise to build their strength and muscular endurance. Their workouts include ‘dry land’, which consists of leg and core workouts, and weight training.
“The most challenging part of our work-outs would be the ‘dry land’. We’re always working on our core and our legs, because kicking is the most important part,” freshman Sheldon Wall said.
The team participates at meets almost every week, and sometimes there can be multiple swim meets in one week. During a meet, the team members competes with other swim teams from different schools.
“The most challenging part of swim team is swimming for events you’re not designated to swim for,” freshman Brooke Wheelis said.
The team has won many different awards in a number of different events at their meets so far, including many top three scores.
“I work as hard as I can, and try to be as as possible,” Wall said.
Because the team practices together so much, most of the teammates end up becoming very good friends with each other.
“We’re like a big family. We all get along, we’re all friends, it’s really enjoyable,” freshman Ashlyn Raley said.
The swimmers share their time together, and rely on each other. Despite the hard work, the swimmers say they love their sport and enjoy the camaraderie that the practices and meets create.
“Even though swimming isn’t necessarily a team sport, because it’s individual races, I like the community and team it builds,” senior Kayce Stevens said.