Dynamic. Our Swim & Dive team had their first home meet against Paradise Honors and Valley Vista a little past halfway through their season on September 28, 2023. As someone who has been with the team since my freshman year, this was a rather unconventional experience as we usually have at least one meet before the latter half of the season rolls over. At least, that’s the way it has been for the past 3 years, the seasons I have been a part of, though it would not surprise me if this trend was reversed before my time with the team and after this year, my “last dance” with the team. The reason? The answer started this piece: dynamic.

From the pandemic that placed restrictions on not only our team but the world to the new coaches that rejuvenated a new vision for our squad this year, I have seen plenty of changes on the macroscopic and microscopic levels that Swim & Dive collectively have endured during my time. The pandemic, for instance, forced our team to discontinue our Friday dryland training sessions from the year prior, limited our swimmers’ pool time, and restricted group gatherings out of the pool such as the end-of-the-season banquet. Despite these palpably impactful deviations, there are evident constants that are deeply rooted within the team and its traditions: the same cheer, the loyal members, and the same pool.

These three characteristics were particularly evident to me on the sunny day of our competition at home. I, as a captain, recited the same cheer that I chanted three years ago as a newcomer minutes before the start of the tri-meet. I observed the divers rotating themselves in surreal ways midair during their intrasquad meet under the guidance of Coach Smalls, who has been with this team long before my tenure. I conversed with divers and swam alongside the
same swimmers I had known since my junior, sophomore, and freshman years. And, of course, I raced in the same pool that I have practiced and competed in a hundred times over.

It felt invigorating to be racing back home as the end nears…