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ONE PRACTICE AT A TIME
“Woah, woah, woah, another swimming article? Don’t they do this every year, multiple times?” If you’re thinking that, you’d be correct in doing so. Sometimes it seems like there's only so much we can cover, so we end up with the same article year after year, just with a slightly punnier title. This year, we’re trying something different: We’re going to do a deep dive (get it?) on swimmers' mental health throughout the season.
Two sophomore swimmers, Makayla Keller and Ruby Sychra, were up to do a quick interview about the struggles of being student athletes. Both athletes brought up the fact that swimming is a very mental sport. In a short interview, Keller shared, “I think it’s a really mental sport. You’re always by yourself, and I do distance, so I’m by myself for longer in the water…” Keller continued with, “You really have to think about, ‘Okay, what can I do? What can I not do? And how is that overall going to affect my score?’” After most meets, individual times are scored and added up to determine an overall winner for meets. She detailed further about one of her past meets; “I walk in. I felt sore. I felt tired, and I wanted to sleep. But I pushed through.” She continued on about the importance of not giving up; not only for the team, but to see her own personal growth. Keller normally swims the 500, which is 10 laps down and back. It can take anywhere from five to 10 minutes, allowing plenty of time with your thoughts. One thing that keeps Keller motivated and uplifted is her “counter,” Ruby Sychra, another swimmer on the team. “I have my counter and she’s amazing. She keeps me going through the day-to-day, and just having someone to go and talk to, and be stupid with, and just do funny things with each other,” Keller said, “That’s definitely what gets me through.”
Sychra is another swimmer on the team and has been swimming since the age of four. She mentioned that the increasing amount of meets throughout the season and harder swim sets make it difficult to feel motivated this far into this season. When asked about her mental health as the weeks add up, Sychra said, “When I start the season, it’s really high. I really do like to swim, and then throughout the season, it does kind of tank.” It’s common for swimmers to reach a plateau around the middle of the season, making it harder and harder to push through. “I think that’s mostly because sets are getting harder, and we just can’t really see an end in sight.” She detailed further that her coach takes a “tough love” approach, quoting, “‘Well, you’re in it for the long haul.’” Regardless, Sychra is able to rely on her teammates when things get hard.
“I think that my teammates are really good at uplifting me. They’re the reason I’m still on the team.”
When overwhelmed by the seemingly endless swimming, she chooses to take it one practice at a time; she stated, “In the mornings, I just kind of don’t know what’s happening, and I like it that way.” Another stressor for these swimmers is the updated attendance policy. Athletes are allotted 10 excused absences and three unexcused before they are either moved down to JV or kicked off the team entirely.
Practices are held every day after school, with morning practices on Wednesdays and Fridays from 5:30-6:45 AM. Outside of swimming, Sychra also participates in band, causing her to miss practices often. Meets are common on weekends, but can happen up to four times a week. With an intense schedule like this, swimmers have shown concern that they might not meet the requirements of this attendance policy.
Despite the hundreds of hours in the pool, these athletes have learned to face the day and continue on in a positive light. And while I wish the stressful nature of this sport was a one-off occurrence, we see this trend far too often in all kinds of sports. Stepping up and supporting student athletes is the least we can do. And remember, if the Clipper ship sinks, the swimmers will be the ones saving us. Go boats!
