SPORTS
Ti mson titanium
22
47.967
takes on both Te aching and Swimm In g tellurium
indium
127.60
114.82
52
49
After recently relocating to Kansas City, Kelly Timson hopes to make an impact at Sion through the swim team. BY MEGHAN KEARNEY A & E EDITOR
She walks into the room. The lights are dim and water spills over the tiled edges of the pool. The unfamiliar space surrenders every step she enters, as if it is one step further into the unknown. The familiar scent of chlorine fills chemistry teacher and swim coach Kelly Timson’s nostrils. She thinks back to her memories of swimming in college at Iowa State and the high school where she used to coach for 12 years, wondering how different Sion is compared to Glenbrook South High School in Chicago. There she led her team to a fourth place finish in 2013 as well as seven individual state titles and three state relays titles. “All the school records were broken. We placed fourth at state one year and have won many state individual and relays titles,” Timson said. This summer, Timson and her family packed up their belongings and loaded them in a moving van. They said goodbye to their friends and family and said hello to the their new home in Kansas City due to her husband’s job relocation. Counselor Erika Ellwanger informed her of a part-time job as a chemistry teacher. Originally Timson was not going to teach, but a phone call from Associate Head of School for Curriculum and Instruction Steven Turner changed her mind. “He told me about the part-time position and was also asking for someone to be a swim coach,” Timson said. “I thought it was so weird that there were openings in both chemistry and as a swim
Coach Kelly Timson asks freshman Ellie Magsamen to lead the team cheer. (Photo by Meghan Kearney)
coach. It was meant to be.” This year Timson hopes to make a mark at the state meet. She wants to help her athletes achieve personal best times while also learning to become better teammates and good sports. “Coach Timson is a passionate coach who has a lot in store for the swim team. She wants those who she coaches to succeed in all that they do,” senior and co-captain of the swim team Katherine Glaser said. Not only does Timson have the responsibility of coaching for the swim team, but also balancing teaching and taking care of her family. Because she only teaches three hours of chemistry, it is easier to take her daughter to and from school. “In the past it has been difficult to balance the family, but I have a supportive husband who helps
take care of the children during swim practice,” Timson said. Students not only have to become accustomed to Timson as a new coach but also as a new teacher. For junior and swim team member, Erin Mills, she is able to interact with Timson both in the classroom and on the pool deck. “In the classroom, she helps the us understand what we are learning, and I can see that on the pool deck. She really teaches how to do a stroke better, how to make your time and how to push yourself,” Mills said. As she inhales the fumes of the chlorine, the unfamiliar space suddenly becomes familiar. Timson is not in Chicago anymore, but instead, Kansas City. This unknown world has become a place she now calls home.
The Newest Kid on the Swimming Block Staffer takes the plunge during the rigorous swim team practices. BY SYDNEY MANNING SPORTS COLUMNIST
T
he northern wind pierced my bare toes and billowed my dress. I ran from Swimwear Solution to my car, and immediately blasted the heat. After work, I usually go home to relax, but not today. I dreaded going back into the cold air, but I was pumped for my “swim tryout.” I arrived at the Red Bridge YMCA and watched the Sion swim team practice before my tryout. My younger brother, Reece, swims for the Blazers, so this wasn’t my first time around a swimming pool. Swim team manager Aubrey Horstmeier was holding a board with lots of numbers written on it. It looked like gibberish to me, but I later discovered it was the workout for the day and the team had been swimming almost non stop for an hour and
a half. Le Journal staffer Meghan Kearney who would be my “coach” was in the pool. Something that made me hesitant to start swimming was that I am terrified of drains. When I was little, my mom would carry around scissors in our pool bag in case one of my sisters or I got our hair caught on the pool drain or in a hot tub jet. Additionally, I hate the cold. Cold weather, cold things (especially ice), etc. For that reason, I was not excited to get in a cold pool when it was only 20 degrees outside. You know how when dogs get in the water for the first time, they just instinctively know how to swim? It’s not very graceful, but they just flail around until they make it to the shore. That’s exactly what I looked like when Kearney told me to swim a “25 free”. After I painstakingly made it across the pool the first time, she made me do it again. At that point I had swam a total of 50 meters, and my legs were on fire. They hurt more than I had ever experienced. After I got out of the water, everything quickly cramped up. It felt like the inside of my thighs were expanding and everything was going to pop out of my skin. During my short
freak out, Kearney and senior Katherine Glaser were watching me, probably in shock that a human being could be so unathletic. I swam a few more laps, and it got harder each time. This was partially because I fell down the stairs in July at a college visit and my ankle never fully recovered. Also partially because Kearney kept laughing at me, which lead to me laughing and splashing water into my open mouth, all while trying to swim. We decided to stop swimming, and transitioned into taking underwater selfies. Once we got out of pool, I had to take a few pictures in my swimcap by the “Rockhurst Swim and Dive” sign, and was then on my way, back into the cold air. I learned a lot from my night at swim practice; mostly that swimming is hard and my childhood fear of pool drains has not subsided. But one thing I’ll remember about that night was how much fun I had regardless of my struggle. And, how well I rock a one piece and swim cap. Quick shoutout to the Sion swimmers - what you do is miraculous. I wish you all a great season, hours of rest and endless post practice Chipotle. LE JOURNAL ISSUE 3
11
