When most people think of a swim team, they think of tough coaches, formidable races, or intense training to hone the racer’s skills. The smell of the pool, the feeling of water rushing against skin as muscles strain for speed, the cheering that fills the bleachers. What people tend to forget is that swim teams are often built upon bonds and teams that are more like family.
“We try to make a lot [of] time for team bonding,” senior Josh Luo said.
Luo and many other teammates state that being on the swim team cultivates relationships among swim members, becoming as close as a family to a degree.
“Obviously, when you swim together and you’re in the weight room and practice four hours a day six days a week, you would definitely get really close to each other,” Luo said.
Part of why these swimmers can bond and come together as a team stems from the difficult practices and meets that they have to endure during their season, according to senior swimmer Eduardo Garcia.
“A major part of it is trauma bonding,” Garcia said.
Even though this effect is often jokingly referred to as “trauma bonding,” it’s not uncommon to be genuinely daunted from coming to practice due to the sheer amount of challenge. Garcia states that through those feelings, a team member can be better reinforced.
“It is getting through those days that help you move forward,” Garcia said. “It’s nice to see the effort we put in actually show up in our meets. Even though we might not win, it’s nice to see everybody try in all of their races.”
But none of this hard work would come to fruition without the coaches, who are there to not only encourage growth and a positive mindset when working on the team’s skills, but also to keep the team working together as a group.
“We have some of the best coaches in all of Michigan,” said Luo.
One of the best things a coach can do for their team is give advice when the team needs a boost or seek encouragement. According to Garcia, the FHS swim coaches tell their swimmers to give themselves a reason to come back and keep kicking.
“They are the ones that try to really get us to be a team and stick together,” Garcia said. “Try to find a reason to be here, try not to find a reason to not be.”
In this community, the students on the team are tasked with daily practice during the swim season and with occasional workouts during the off-season. The team also has scheduled swim meets and higher difficulty meets later in the year like league meets, in which they compete against other schools in their swimming capabilities.
