When your legs hurt, kick faster. When your arms hurt, swim faster. When your lungs burn, don’t breathe.
As the nerves run through your body, all you can think of is that the race lies in your hands. No one can swim it for you.
“Determination and endurance keep you motivated to achieve your goals,” senior Nicholas Palamara said. “You must always keep your eye on the prize.”
Even when you feel like you cannot move, you must push forward because it is your only chance to eliminate the competition.
“The times when it hurts the most are the times that you are able to succeed,” sophomore Amanda DelGiudice said. “One breath could make the difference in a race.”
Excelling in tough practices helped swimmers not only with their technique and abilities, but also with their relations with other members of the team. Like any team, strenuous activity and tiresome drills brought these members closer as they grew into better swimmers.
“The team is like a family,” freshman Selena Nieto said. “Although practices are hard, we learn from each other and have fun doing it.”
The swimmers demonstrated their hard work and dedication to the team through their outstanding performances at the CHSAA A-Championships, as well as other swim meets.
“All of the team’s difficult practices finally paid off when I qualified for A-Champs,” junior Patrick Kennedy said. “I was very proud of myself, the team, and of our outcome at championships.”
The team would have never been able to achieve this great deal of success without the guidance and devotion of the coaches: Gillian and Michael Bonanno.
Through the coaches’ instruction, the team was able to believe that “oxygen is overrated.”