The smell of chlorine fills the room, as students start stretching for their game against Highland. After days of morning practices, students feel confident for a win against the opposing team.
“I start my days waking up around 4:30 a.m. We start warming up for 30 minutes and then we will do a main set where we try hard and then we do a kick set. I feel like these practices really impact my performance for the better,” Amana Abdulla (12) said.
Even though some students may find waking up early to be an arduous task, getting up early improves swimmers performances. For example, Coach Jeff Kielinski expects these practices to help swimmers not only on their performance, but also on their daily tasks in school.
“We have our ups and downs, but the kids need to learn how to train and practice which will eventually lead to their success. I’ve been doing 5 a.m. practices for a while now and I feel like it’s effective for all the kids. A lot of my swimmer’s do honors classes and AP’s while also doing swim at the same time,“ said Coach Kielinski.
Balancing both lifestyles for students can be challenging, but these practices help students manage their time. Although, for some students the swim season can affect their sleep schedule.
“I really love swim, but usually my homework takes up most of my time and sometimes I end up sleeping for four hours,” Tara Schassburger (11) said.
Even with conflicting schedules, students feel like their hard work paid off in the end with their meet against Highland. Even with this win, swimmers still feel as if there is a lot of work to be done.
