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Swimming in Full Capacity

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Study Tactics

Study Tactics

Growing support and togetherness

The swim team feels the noise

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Elizabeth Payne paynenic002@hsestudents.org

In the previous year, there were a limited number of entries that coaches could make because of social distancing guidelines by the IHSAA. “We had to operate on limited deck space,” senior Andi Johnson said. “Some meets people couldn’t go to [because] we couldn’t have that many people on deck.” Now, with meets being allowed to have more entries, limits have been removed from spectators, which has caused support to increase for the swim team. “The people that are there to support us, it’s not just parents anymore,” sophomore Alexandra Burnworth said. “Friends and even people the swimmers are dating have been showing up [to meets].” With this group having gone through those regulations last year, they have been able to connect over the past year and a half according to sophomore Emma Schumacher. “We are always helping to push each other at practice,” Schumacher said. “Outside of practice, we have lunch and chat most of the time.” The swim team has also been promoting more on their social media, causing them to have an increased presence online. According to Burnworth, this had caused increased fan attendance and knowledge of when the meets are for the community who didn’t know before. “Having people there just makes the sport so much more fun,” Burnworth said. “Knowing people are there to support us makes us enjoy what we do more.” Another factor that has been new for the swimmers this year is gaining a new swim manager, senior Katherine Ayers. She wanted to be the manager for the team because a lot of her friends are on the swim team, which allows her to be around her friends more and be connected to the sport. “I used to swim when I was younger and I enjoy watching the sport,” Ayers said. “I start practice by filling up people’s water bottles. Then, I meet with the swim coach and he has a list of things he needs done for the day.” Her favorite part of being a manager is cheering her friends on at the meets, and she has one thing she wants people to take away about the swim team. “Fishers High School swimming is a family and everyone feels supported,” Ayers said. With swimming being a sport where people compete for the best times and to reach higher levels of competition, it leads to people setting high goals. Seniors and their underclassmen have goals that they set for themselves based on how much time they have to improve and succeed in those goals. “I would like to get better at swimming, I know I can do better than I am. I have two more seasons to improve and possibly reach goals I think aren’t possible right now,” Burnworth said.

The swim team practice together doing drills with different strokes, including breastroke and freestyle, on Dec 1. Photo by Ameera Tai.

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