Swimming

because I was simply fat and lonely. I accepted and believed that I wasn’t good enough and accepted that I am a LOSER. Everything changed one day when I was in my swimming class at my high school my freshmen year. I was swimming around and I asked a few swimmers if I should join the swimming team they all laughed and said,” swimming isn’t for fat people like you.” My gym teacher over heard what they said and called me over. He told me a speech that I will never forget in my life which he…

the team but was willing to put in the extra effort. Since I was new to competitive swimming I started off swimming in the “easiest” events. These included the 50 meter and the 100 meter freestyle. Eventually I became a substitute swimmer that would go in whatever event needed another Hobart representative. This led to me being in the 200 meter more than anything else. Most people on the team to not enjoy swimming any distance above 100 meters. Eventually I would be tasked with one of the most…

my coach and everyone that had doubted me that I can achieve anything if i put my mind to it. Many people believe swimming is not a sport full of blood, sweat, and tears; different excuses are swimming is not recognized in many schools across Texas, it does not require a lot of effort; others oppose stating that it is. Of course the ones…

My Swimming Story Swimming never fails to appeal to me. I grew up swimming and had continuous year-round swim workouts and competitions. Being born and raised in China, I started my swim career in an elementary school. Since then, I swam through elementary school, middle school, high school, and college. It could not be denied that my hard work paid off since I managed to obtain lots of medals and broke multiple local records. What’s more valuable was that I became the team captain in my…

throughout high school has been swimming. Before high school I never played any sports I was more of a video game kid. Going into high school I knew I wanted to join a sport to make friends because I had moved that summer to a new town that had better schools and more opportunities for me. I started high school knowing no one so I joined swimming to try and make friends. Little did I know that swimming would turn into much more than a recreational activity. Swimming soon turned into my…

I have been swimming for most of my life even if it wasn’t competitive and I had never really focused on my strokes. I already knew that I am supposed to drink water even when I’m swimming, and that I need to stretch before and after I get into the pool to avoid getting hurt. I also already knew that I needed to warm up and cool down before I started swimming hard. My coach always…

I took a deep breath in and out trying to calm myself as our car approached the curb. “Good luck today. Swim fast.” My mom said as I slowly stepped out of the car. “Thanks.” I said trying to not let my excitement take over me. I was tingling inside because today I got to swim 200 butterfly at Junior Olympics. I know what you are probably thinking, Junior Olympics is not like the actual olympics that is held every four years with the gold, silver, and bronze medals just for children. Junior…

Swimming to Antarctica by Lynne Cox is a fascinating and inspiring story. It contains writing that will make you feel the emotions that the author experiences in the moments she describes. The detailed imagery used makes it as if you are the one being exposed to her challenges. Lynne takes you through the pain and dedication needed to achieve big goals. She’s blunt and tells that it wasn’t easy. The book provides the message that in order to achieve big things, it takes an unimaginable amount…

When you are swimming, it is much harder to remember and do all of these things without getting exhausted, and divisions is where it is really put to the test. With each movement I can feel the water flowing around and through my body, its coldness causing goosebumps to form on my arms and legs. While swimming, I get kicked by other swimmers on accident, and sometimes these kicks leave bright red splotches on my thighs. My skin tightens in the water as it dries up, creating raisin-like…

Have you ever wondered how athletes make it to the Olympics? Well it's not from them training themselves. Every great athlete has an even better coach standing behind them. Coaching is the most important part of any sport, especially in swimming. Swimming is an extremely demanding sport both physically and mentally. Swimmers train year round for just a few hundred yards of racing. The one who is always there making up the sets, workouts, and motivational speeches is the coach. Coaching has come…