This season, the FHS girl’s swim team saw their highest record yet placing 1st in Hocks, 1st in South Sectionals, and 3rd in states.

Following the win at sectionals, junior Christine Tang said that it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience she will never forget. 

After last year’s seniors graduated, there was concern with the number of swimmers on the team as there was little interest from underclassmen. Still, with the smallest roster yet of 18 swimmers, they were still able to conquer all challenges in their way.

Practices:

Practices began at 2:30 p.m. and went on until 3:30 p.m. –the team only had an hour to practice each day so Coach Pridham had to condense training into a small amount of time. Most club practices are 1 hour 30 minutes or 2 hours long, yet with only an hour, swimmers were still able to get the training they needed. 

Swimmers completed many sets that challenged their skill level. These sets allowed swimmers to work on skills regarding speed and technique, which ultimately prepared swimmers for meets.

Practices were supportive environments that benefited all in ways of technique and friendships. 

Meets:

During meets, all swimmers persevered under the support of their teammates to finish their swim. Every swimmer this season was able to finish their swim, which is a huge accomplishment.

Freshman Arsh Tyagi, a member of the boy’s varsity swim team, said the girls are extremely supportive of each other and all fabulous swimmers. 

When each swimmer swims, the team lines up behind the end of the lane to cheer on their teammate. The support from teammates dramatically assisted in the success of the swim team. 

Team Activities:

Many team activities allowed for a successful season such as pasta parties. Pasta parties are an optional, small get-together for the whole team and were held at a different swimmer’s house before every meet. These parties had large amounts of food such as cookies, salads, and most importantly, pasta!

Christine Tang said that she loves pasta parties because she loves the free and unlimited food.

It is not a surprise that swimmers love food, so pasta parties are a way to both engage with the team and fuel up for meets. 

Swimmers also participated in secret psycher, a type of secret Santa where swimmers have an assigned person who makes a bag of snacks or treats of that swimmer’s liking for every meet. 

On Wednesdays, swimmers participated in wicked awesome Wednesday, a special practice every week exploring swimmers’ technique and helping the teams become one. Many activities such as stations and water Zumba (a fan favorite) occurred on Wednesdays. 

These fun practices do differ, but that’s what makes them fun. It is nice to take a break from difficult training and explore team-building skills.

Saanvi Daunde, a first-year swimmer, said that it was a very supportive and fun environment where you get to meet a lot of new people, and it is a new experience. 

Throughout the season, both team activities and supportive practice environments allowed for the success of Franklin girl’s swimming!