The Bees Swim team is diving into their season. So far, they have had a couple of meets. Currently, they have beaten North Royalton and Wadsworth. The swim team’s goals for this year are a little different from other teams at BBHHS. One of their goals is to normalize the swim team around the school and to be proud of being on the team. The coach does not want them to be ashamed that they swim. Another goal is to recruit new people to swim on the team and get stronger!
The head coach of the team is Chris Thomas, a teacher at Normandy. He has been the head coach for 2 years at BBH, but coached at Normandy prior to coming here. The assistant coach, Amy Kosek, is new this year, but is very familiar with the team because her son swims.
“Swimming is a lot of commitment, but it is worth it,” says Junior, Abby Hogle. She says that the bonds that you create with your team makes everything worth it, even the early mornings and practice after school every day. Her friends are by her side every step of the way.
Although they want people to join, when asked if she would recommend swimming to others, Libby Wolf says, “I am kind of in the middle because I think it is very time consuming and you have to be able to manage your time well. You also be in good physical condition. It does help get you in shape and you get to make a lot of friends in other grades.”
Managing time is also very important for a swimmer. With early morning lifts 2 times a week, they have to make sure they stay organized and up to date with school, as well as getting enough sleep to make it through the day.
The mentality of the team this year is “ If it is to be, it is up to me.” The coaches say this to the swimmers to try and motivate them as much as possible to do their best. Since it is an individual sport, it is very important for everyone to feel motivated to win. Without motivation, swimming could be very tough with how much they have to put into their sport every day.
If interested, please consider swim for next year!